CROATIA: VOTING CONTINUES FOR 3RD DAY IN EASTERN SLAVONIA скачать в хорошем качестве

CROATIA: VOTING CONTINUES FOR 3RD DAY IN EASTERN SLAVONIA

(15 Apr 1997) Eng/Serbo-Croat/Nat Minority Serbs in the U-N-administered region known as Eastern Slavonia that borders Serbia voted for a third day Tuesday in an election fraught with organisational problems. Voting had to be extended to a third day in the town of Klisa due to the late arrival of voter rolls from Zagreb. U-S General Jacques Paul Klein - the transitional administrator of the region - enrolled the help of local children to spread the word that villagers had an extra polling day. Minority Serbs were granted an extra day to cast their vote in Klisa, part of U-N administered Eastern Slavonia. The polling station had only received ballot papers Monday evening, an hour before the polls were due to close. So on Tuesday, the locals finally had the chance to cast their vote. The Transitional Administrator of Eastern Slavonia, U-S General Jacques Paul Klein negotiated with the president of the local polling station when voting should close. In the end, the president of the polling station won - the polls would be kept open indefinitely throughout Tuesday. SOUNDBITE: General Klein: "For how long you will vote here...Two o'clock? Did I hear two o'clock?" President of the local polling committee: "No, no. I just can't inform people, I can't notify them that they can still vote. I don't know how to let them know." General Klein: "Ok, ok, get them going...let them going. Let's see how it's going. Try to get as and as quick as you can and we will keep it as long as there are people here." General Klein explained the need for an extra day of voting for the Klisa electorate. SOUNDBITE: (English) "This is one village with a ballots never got here, and therefore we couldn't do anything yesterday. They just didn't arrive, and then, when they did arrive, they were absolutely wrong. In other word: It was the wrong ballots for the wrong village, and we can not let anybody be disfranchised. So this is the only village in the region where we are still voting today. We have 150 people voted already, and we have 150 more that should be voting. When we get that down, we are finished." SUPER CAPTION: General Jacques Paul Klein, Transitional Administrator of Eastern Slavonia Local Serbs have expressed their disappointment at the elections - their first chance to vote in Croatia since the 1991 uprising. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) "We expected a lot from these elections. We thought they would be organised much better. However, all we can do now is to thank the local Serb people for their dignity and peace." SUPER CAPTION: Vojislav Stanimirovic, a local Serb leader General Klein was clearly relieved when voting finally got under way in Klisa. SOUNDBITE: "So where are the people now? Vote...let's do it." SUPER CAPTION: General Jacques Paul Klein, Transitional Administrator of Eastern Slavonia He sweetened up local children by giving them chewing gum in return for spreading the word around the village that at last people could vote. But despite the sweets, the voting irregularities are bound to stoke fears among local Serbs that they will face discrimination and reprisals intended to drive them away when Croats reclaim Eastern Slavonia in mid-July under a 1995 accord. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...