The Embassy of the United States of America congratulated the people of Kosovo on their first post-independence general elections.

Kosovo now faces a test as the votes are counted. Kosovo's institutions must show the public that they are prepared to defend the integrity of the right to vote, the embassy said in a release Monday.

American observers were present at polling locations throughout Kosovo on December 12, and they observed a process that, with a few serious exceptions, was largely efficient and effective, the release says. Ambassador Christopher Dell observed elections in 17 polling stations at 12 polling centers in the municipalities of Glogovc, Djakovica, Decan, Pec, Klina, and Srbica, the release says.

The Ambassador also observed a vote count at a polling station in Srbica . There were irregularities during the count that the ambassador observed, challenged, and reported.

The ballots in the box exceeded the number of signatures in the voters' book, the release says. We understand that there were other instances of irregularities that occurred in Srbica and Glogovc, the release says.

We encourage all observers who witnessed irregularities on December 12 to take advantage of the legal mechanisms that protect the integrity of Kosovo's elections and the integrity of Kosovo's democracy, the release says. There are clear processes and timelines set out in Kosovo's elections law that provide for the transparent review of contested elections results, the release says.