c. Breaking new ground; the Central Election Commission Secretariat (CECS)
In a fundamental break from election management and practice of the three previous elections, the voter process is conducted by a new local election administration body, the Central Election Commission Secretariat (CECS), responsible for field co-ordination and planning; the observer programme; public information; production of ballots and Election Day material. It also prepares proposals for certification of political entities and candidates. It is multi-ethnic in composition, headed by Adnan Merovci, a Kosovo Albanian. His Deputy is Mr. Bogoljub Staletović, a Serb.
The CECS is non-political and funded by the Kosovo Consolidated Budget. It is represented in all 30 municipalities by its field staff, the Municipal Executive Officers (MEOs) who chair and coordinate the Municipal Election Commissions, composed of employees of the Municipal Administration nominated by the Chief Executive Officer in each municipality. They receive support from Municipal Assemblies for logistics, staffing and transport.
d. The OSCE Department of Elections
The OSCE Department of Elections supports the process by providing training, mentoring and monitoring and has its own reserved tasks, including out-of-Kosovo voting; registration of political parties after monitoring their internal democratic functioning; the Counting and Results Centre; anti-fraud structures; and voters’ list.
e. Oversight/observation: The Election Complaints and Appeals Commission (ECAC)
The ECAC, an independent body established by the SRSG, is responsible for adjudication of all complaints and appeals concerning the electoral process.
The Chief Commissioner is an international and was officially appointed by the SRSG on 2 June. Four Commissioners, all locals, complete the membership of the ECAC. Decisions should be reached by consensus, otherwise the Chief Commissioner decides on his/her own. Individuals, who consider that their rights concerning the electoral process have been violated, may submit a complaint to ECAC. The ECAC may also take cases on its own initiative on any matter within its jurisdiction. In addition to adjudicating complaints, ECAC serves as the appeals body against decisions of the Central Election Commission (CEC) on matters such as voter registration, participation in the by-mail voting programme, political entity certification and observer accreditation. ECAC may order remedial action to be taken or impose sanctions, including fines of up to 200,000 Euros. When the ECAC intends to sanction a political entity through e. g. removing a certain number of candidates from the list of candidates or decertify a political entity, it has to seek the prior approval of the CEC.
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