Voting
Elections for the Assembly of Kosovo are held free, general, equal, direct and secret, in pursuance to the Law on General Elections in Kosovo and the rules of CEC. Voters are equal in exercising their right to vote. Every citizen of Kosovo has the right to vote and be chosen without any discrimination based on race, ethnic community, colour, gender, language, religion or political opinion, education, social affiliation or any other criteria.
The law on General Elections in Kosovo, among other things regulates:
- Acknowledgement and protection of the right to vote and criteria for eligibility of vote
- Maintenance of the voters’ list
- Procedures for voting, counting and announcement of results
Every person has the right to vote in the elections, in accordance with this law if he/she has reached the age of 18 in the day of elections and fulfils one of the following criteria:
- Is registered as citizen of Kosovo in the Central Civil Registry;
- Lives outside Kosovo or has left Kosovo before 1 January 1998, with the condition to fulfil the criteria according to the legislation in force for being citizen of Kosovo;
- Has won the status of refugee, set out in the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951 and its protocol of 16 December 1966, after 1 January 1995 and has the right to register in the Central Civil Registry as resident of Kosovo.
Freedom and secrecy of vote is guaranteed. No one has the right to prevent any citizen to vote, to compel to vote, to hold responsible for voting or to request, against his/her wish to reveal his/her vote or reasons for not voting.
Read more about this topic: Kosovar Diaspora
Famous quotes containing the word voting:
“It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting.”
—Tom Stoppard (b. 1937)
“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Common sense should tell us that reading is the ultimate weapon—destroying ignorance, poverty and despair before they can destroy us. A nation that doesn’t read much doesn’t know much. And a nation that doesn’t know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box and the voting booth...The challenge, therefore, is to convince future generations of children that carrying a book is more rewarding than carrying guns.”
—Jim Trelease (20th century)