Pejë October 19 – The non-governmental organizations Syri i Vizioni and the Forum for Civic Initiatives held the table “Functioning of the village/neighborhood council – formality or encouragement of civic activism, where representatives of villages and urban neighborhoods, informal representatives were present at this table , or elected representatives of village councils and urban neighborhoods as well as list bearers of all Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin political parties competing for councilor in the Peja municipality assembly.

The purpose of this table was to discuss the role of the representation of settlements through the village or neighborhood council, the level of citizen participation in local decision-making and citizen activation in general, as well as what the next assembly should do in strengthening or structuring local councils.

All those present at this table agreed that first the structuring of local councils should be done according to the municipal regulation for increasing the cooperation of the municipality with the councils of urban neighborhoods and settlements in rural areas.

As this regulation provides, the selected representatives who represent the neighborhoods or villages must be elected through the votes of the residents of those localities and be depoliticized and non-political as they have been so far in some neighborhoods and villages.

It has also been requested to create incentives for these representatives so that their responsibility would increase and their role would be more active in representing the problems of the residents of those localities and they would be more active in decision-making.

The representatives of the political parties at this table promised that upon the constitution of the new assembly they will try to implement the municipal regulation on the ground and will give special space and importance to the selection and empowerment of the mayors of the neighborhoods and villages of the municipality of Peja .