MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 PEJË/PEĆ REGION
ISTOG/ISTOK MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 ISTOG/ISTOK The OSCE regional centre Pejë/Peć covers six (6) municipalities, including Istog/Istok, and has teams working in all of them.
AREA AND POPULATION 454 km² area The municipality of Istog/Istok is located in north-western Kosovo. It covers an area of approximately 454 km² and includes 50 villages Istog/Istok town and 50 villages. According to the 2011 Kosovo Population and Housing Census, the total population is 39,289. 39,289 population
Ethnic composition According to the census conducted in 1981, there were 35,972 Kosovo Albanians, 7,736 Kosovo Serbs and 1,856 Kosovo 1.Kosovo Albanians 36,154 Montenegrins in the municipality; according to the census 2.Kosovo Egyptians 1,544 conducted in 1991*, there were 43,910 Kosovo Albanians, 5,968 3.Kosovo Bosniaks 1,142 Kosovo Serbs and 1,302 Kosovo Montenegrins in the 4.Kosovo Serbs 194 municipality. 5.Kosovo Ashkali 111 6.Kosovo Roma 39 According to the UNHCR statistics, 2,050 displaced persons 7.Kosovo Turks 10 have returned to the municipality since 1999, of them 980 8.Other 45 Kosovo Serbs, 38 Kosovo Roma, 719 Kosovo Ashkali and Kosovo 9.Not specified 50 Egyptians, 309 Kosovo Bosniak, one (1) Kosovo Albanian and three (3) Kosovo Montenegrins. (source: Kosovo Agency of Statistics) *The 1991 census is not accepted by Kosovo Albanians as legitimate.
GOVERNING STRUCTURES AND POLITICAL OVERVIEW The total number of voters in Istog/Istok municipality registered for the municipal elections held in 2017 (1st round in October and 2nd round in November) was 47,6831, including out-of-Kosovo voters. The voter turnout in 1st round was 44.58% or 21,256 voters and in 2nd round it was 41.72% or 19,892 voters. On 17 December 2017, 2nd round of the 2017 municipal elections was repeated due to irregularities; the number of registered voters in the repeat election was 49,235, including out-of-Kosovo voters. The voters turnout in the repeated 2nd round was 41.38% or 19,869 voters (source: Central Election Commission). The 2017 municipal assembly election results were as follows: The current seat distribution is as follows:
38.18% LDK - Democratic League of Kosovo 11 seats 21.38% AAK - Alliance for Future of Kosovo 6 seats 14.52% PDK - Democratic Party of Kosovo 4 seats 8.93% Vetëvendosje! (Self-Determination) Movement 2 seats 4.50% IQPI – Initiative of Istog/Istok Independents 1 seat 3.32% SL - Serbian List 1 seat 2.19% Slaviša Maliković 1 seat 2.11% Radenko Belošević 1 seat
1. The overall population figure presented above is taken from the 2011 census (or authoritative estimates where the census figure is not available), whereas the voters list is a reflection of all people with a civil registration entry in the municipality. In some cases, the voters list figure is higher than or similar to the overall population number due to insufficient updating of the civil registry or a significant proportion of people registered in the municipality but actually living elsewhere or abroad. ISTOG/ISTOK
MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 LEGISLATIVE PUBLIC SERVICES
The municipal assembly has 27 seats distributed among eight Infrastructure (8) political entities, 24 are Kosovo Albanian and three (3) are Kosovo Serb; nine (9) are women. The Municipal Assembly The overall status of infrastructure in the municipality is Chairperson is Qaush Balaj (LDK). assessed as good. All the main roads connecting villages with the urban centre are asphalted. Istog/Istok town and 95 per cent of villages are connected to the water supply system, and EXECUTIVE approximately 30 per cent of residents have access to sewage system. Power supply has improved in both rural and urban areas Structure of municipal executive and the executive's political over the last years (source: municipal department of public services and protection). affiliations. The municipality is headed by Mayor Haki Rugova (LDK), re- Health elected for his third term as mayor with 50.03% of votes in the repeated 2nd round of the 2017 municipal elections. In the 2013 The primary health care system includes five (5) municipal family municipal elections, Mayor Rugova won with 51.01% of votes in health centres, one (1) located in Istog/Istok town and four (4) in the first round. Deputy Mayor is Agim Ademaj (LDK). Vrellë/Vrela, Banjë/Banja, Gurrakoc/Đurakovac and Rakosh/Rakoš villages. In addition, there are ten (10) primary There are 11 municipal departments. One (1) department is run healthcare centres. The health sector has 123 employees, by a woman director: general administration (LDK), ten (10) including doctors, nurses and support staff; 87 women and 36 departments are run by men directors: budget and finance (LDK); men. inspection (LDK); economy and development (LDK); public services and protection (LDK); cadaster and geodesy (LDK); In Istog/Istok municipality there is one (1) Serbia-run healthcare urban planning and environment (LDK); education (LDK); youth, facility, located in Osojane/Osojan village, comprised of seven (7) culture and sport (PDK); health and social-welfare (PDK); and office premises. agriculture, forestry and hydro-economy (PDK). In the previous mandate (2013-2017), one (1) director was a woman (source: OSCE All communities have access to health care and all health Field Team). facilities in the municipality (source: municipal department of health and social welfare).
JUDICIARY Education The Pejë/Peć Basic Court branch in Istog/Istok has four (4) There are 11 primary schools with 5,868 pupils and 380 judges; all Kosovo Albanian and all are men. teachers, two (2) secondary schools with 1,576 students and 111 teachers and five (5) kindergartens with 279 children and 20 The Pejë/Peć Basic Prosecutor's Office covers the municipality teachers. (source: The Pejë/Peć Basic Court and Pejë/Peć Basic Prosecutor's Office) There is one (1) Serbian-curriculum primary school in Osojane/Osojan village with 50 (returnee) children and 18 SECURITY PRESENCE teachers (source: municipal department of education and culture, municipal office for communities and return, and the director of the “Radoš Tošić” school) Kosovo Police station in Istog/Istok municipality has 78 police officers: 73 are Kosovo Albanian, three (3) are Kosovo Bosniak, one (1) is Kosovo Serb and one (1) is Kosovo Ashkali; eight (8) are women (source: Kosovo Police) . As for the international military presence, Slovenian KFOR covers the area (source: Slovenian KFOR Liaison Monitoring Team - LMT).
ECONOMY € The economy of Istog/Istok municipality is predominantly based on agriculture. There are approximately 2,900 registered private businesses, out of which 1,425 are active and operational. There is no reliable data on the number of employees in the private sector (source: municipal business centre). ISTOG/ISTOK
MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL SITES KEY FACTS Istog/Istok municipality has a total of 14 mosques, one (1) was destroyed and five (5) were damaged in the 1999 conflict. All of In Istog/Istok there are: them have been reconstructed after the conflict, and two (2) new ones have been built. All of them are functional. There is one (1) • 27 seats in the municipal assembly Catholic church in Gurrakoc/Đurakovac and is functional. There are in total nine (9) Serbian Orthodox churches, one (1) was distributed among 8 political entities destroyed after the 1999 conflict and was reconstructed in the period 2001-2003, one was (1) damaged after the 1999 conflict • 78 police officers and further in the 2004 March riots and was reconstructed in the period 2007-2008, whereas three (3) remain damaged/burned • 4 judges and dysfunctional since the 1999 conflict, and one (1) is present within the remains of an archaeological medieval complex. Three (3) out of nine (9) Serbian Orthodox churches are classified as • 529 teachers in 12 primary and 2 secondary Special Protective Zones: Gorioč Monastery, Monastery of the schools and 5 kindergartens Holy Virgin of Hvosno, and Church of Saint Nicholas (source: religious communities' representatives)
A total of 64 cultural heritage sites (archaeological and architectural) in Istog/Istok municipality are included in the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport list of sites under permanent/temporary protection.