Balkans | Kosovo PM Kurti urges Kosovo Serbs to ‘take part in the elections’

While tensions between Kosovo and Serbia continue in the Balkans, Kosovo’s prime minister has put out a call to “get involved” in order to hold postponed local elections in Kosovo’s regions where the Serb population is concentrated.

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti called on Kosovo Serbs to participate in extraordinary local elections to be held in the north.

Kurti said at the Kosovo Assembly session that Kosovo’s institutions have made all preparations for the extraordinary local elections scheduled for April 23 in 4 municipalities in the north of the country, where mostly Serbs live.

Noting that elections in the north differ from other parts of the country, Kurti said: “Political pluralism and above all the right of Serbian society to vote freely and without interference is fundamental. Anyone who continues to violate this basic right can expect nothing more than a response.” Our institutions have the power of law.” Use the phrase.

Kurti called on Kosovo Serbs to participate in the extraordinary local elections that will be held in the north, noting that the necessary budget has been allocated to conduct the elections.

An MP from the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, Ariana Musliu Šoshi, stated that the Central Election Commission in Kosovo is facing problems such as transportation of electoral materials, impossibility of using polling stations and insecurity in the process of organizing elections.

Elections postponed to April 23 due to “risky situation”

The President of Kosovo, Fyuza Osmani, announced that the extraordinary local elections in the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and Zvecan were to be held on December 18, 2022, following the withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from the center and local. Kosovo institutions, to April 23 due to the precarious security situation in the north of the country.

The Serbian List, the largest Serb party in Kosovo, has announced that it will not participate in the extraordinary local elections in the north of the country.

Recently, the cars of 8 people who changed their number plates issued by Serbia to those of the Republic of Kosovo (RKS) were set on fire in this area.

Relations between Serbia and Kosovo

The European Union calls on Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement that can resolve issues between the two countries to make progress in the process of integration into the Union.

Although Kosovo is recognized as an independent country by 117 countries, it is described as one of the regions of “frozen conflict” in Europe due to the ongoing ethnic tensions in its north and its inability to become a member of the United Nations.

Serbia considers Kosovo, which unilaterally declared its independence in 2008, to be its territory.

Serbia and Kosovo, which clash periodically, are trying to find a common way to normalize relations, and eventually the two countries get to know each other, within the scope of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process initiated in 2011 with the mediation of the European Union.

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