Ugljanin declares victory in minority councils elections

Ugljanin declares victory in minority councils elections

NOVI PAZAR -- Head of the "For Bosniak Unity" list Sulejman Ugljanin has declared final victory in the elections for the councils of national minorities.

He made the statement after repeat elections on Sunday in the municipality of Tutin, southwestern Serbia.

The list won a total of 70.3 percent of votes in the repeat elections at all three polling places in Tutin and the list 'For Bosniaks, Sandzak and Mufti' won 22.7 percent of the vote, Ugljanin told a news conference in Novi Pazar late on Sunday.

He said he was happy about the elections being conducted in a peaceful and dignified atmosphere in which Bosniaks (Muslims) had been able to express their will freely.

Ugljanin said that Bosniaks would get a legal and legitimate Bosniak National Council (BNV) with powers and ability to solve all the problems facing the Bosniak community.

At the same time, the state administration will get another legitimate body in charge of minority issues on the country's EU path, he said.

However, at a press conference on Sunday, head of the list "For Bosniaks, Sandžak and the Mufti' Jahja Fehratović demanded from the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) that the repeat elections for the BNV be annulled in the Tutin municipality because of an election theft.

Fehratović claimed that his list had not been permitted to have members on the electoral committees and that all 10 members of the electoral committees were activists and members of the Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak, whose leader was Sulejman Ugljanin.

"That is why our list was forced to organize video camera supervision of the turnout in the repeat elections....