Country Watch
pointed out, mishaps at three polling stations do not make an election. They do, however, make for good television.
The elections were, overall, remarkably smooth and successful, especially when compared to the 2010 general elections in Kosovo. Unlike 2010, this election did not carry with it allegations of wide-scale fraud. Additionally, there was a great increase in voter turnout among ethnic Serbians. Finally, Kosovar turnout in the present election was higher than that of most similar European elections.
Only 13 mayors secured majority votes in the No- vember elections. Run-off elections in Kosovo’s remaining 25 municipalities were held on Decem- ber 1. This round of elections was peaceful due to efforts by the Kosovo police, who, along with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, monitored the elections to help ensure peace.
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have been high since 2008, when Kosovo declared its inde- pendence from Serbia. Serbia’s refusal to recog- nize Kosovo as an independent state provides the main basis for the tension between the two states. In 2010, Serbia’s parliament passed a reso- lution stating that it would never recognize an independent Kosovo. The resolution was passed as a response to an International Court of Justice advisory opinion, issued just days before, holding that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law.
Despite the tensions, Kosovo and Serbia signed an agreement on April 19, 2013, which called for, among other things, these local elections. The agreement also allows ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo the autonomy to maintain their own appellate court and police force, and to form an organization of Serb municipalities that will have autonomy over their own economic development, education, health, and urban and rural planning. The crux of the deal is that the two sides agreed
not to interfere in the other party’s attempt to join the European Union (EU). Despite its continued non-recognition of Kosovo, Serbia has been grant- ed a January 21, 2014 start date for EU accession negotiations.
* Submitted by Blake Evans
Scottish Independence Referendum Set For September 2014
On November 15, 2013, Scotland’s Parliament unanimously approved a referendum for inde- pendence from Great Britain. A referendum is a vote on a ballot question through the method of submitting an important legislative measure to a direct vote of the whole people. The question was “Should Scotland be an independent country?” which will be decided by the people of Scotland by vote on September 18, 2014.
In order to understand the new push for indepen- dence and to discuss the issues that would result from Scotland’s independence, it is important to discuss the history of Scotland. Before the Union of the Crowns in 1707, both Scotland and England were separate and distinct. Scotland was ruled under the house of York and England under the house of Tudor. The Union of the Crowns followed the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England – the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty – and the ac- cession to the throne of James VI who was King of Scotland. This united England, Scotland, and Ireland under a single monarch. King James VI intended to create an imperial throne of Great Britain; however his efforts at unification between Scotland and England failed.
Scotland has historically and consistently attempt- ed independence through referendum. The first referendum to attempt a type of independence (independence of Scotland’s Parliament) was in 1979. However, it failed to pass due to the require- ment that the vote exceed 40 percent of the total electorate. The second referendum for an inde-
ILSA Quarterly » volume 22 » issue 3 » February 2014 15
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