LVV saw no municipality in front of other winning parties

According to him, the Vetevendosje Movement, which currently has power at the central level, has not yet won any municipality, while in 12 municipalities will compete in the runoff.

Meanwhile, the result in Serb-run populated municipalities has been expected, where according to preliminary results, the Serbian List has won in nine municipalities, except in Klokot, where the Serbian List and Serbian People's Harmony (SNS) remain to compete in the runoff, estimates politicologist Ognjen Gogic.

Most municipalities in runoff

According to preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission, in 17 municipalities have been scored party victories, and 21 municipalities will go to the second round of local elections in Kosovo.

Given the CEC's preliminary results, the Serbian List has won nine municipalities, the Democratic Party of Kosovo has won five municipalities, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo from two municipalities, while the Vetevendosje Movement has not achieved clear victories in any first round.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo has won in South Mitrovica, Ferizaj, Elez's Hani and Skenderaj.

The Democratic League of Kosovo has won in Lipjan and Pec.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo has won in Decani and Suhareka.

Meanwhile, the Serbian List has won in Leposavic, Northern Mitrovica, Novoberda, Shrpca, Zubin Potok, Zvecan, Gracanica, Ranillu and Partesh.

In the run-off these municipalities will go: Gjakova (AAK-LVV), Gjilani (LVV-LDK), Dragashi (PDK-LDK), Kline (AAK-PDK), Kamenica (Sociorate Party - LVV), Podujevo (LVV-LDK), Pristina (LVV-LDK), Prizreni (LVV-PDK), Vitia (LDK-LVV), Vushtrria (PDK-LDK), Malisheva ( Initiative - PDK, Yunik (AAK-LDK) and Mamusa (Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party ) KDTP and Kosovo Tourist Justice Party {KTP), Glogoci ( The PDK and the Democrats for Drenasin ) DD), Klokoti (Serbian List-The Civic Initiative of Serbian People's Harmony-GI SNS), Istog (LDK-AAK), Entrance (PDK-LVV) and Rahoveci (AAK-LVV), Obiliki (Citizen Initiative for IQO and LVV, Fushe Kosova (LDK-LVV), as well as Kacanik <x>.

Political development acquaintance Artan Mujardiri, in a conversation with Radio Free Europe, commenting on the preliminary results of the 17 October local elections, have said the party leading with central power, the Vetevendosje Movement, has hoped to have its powers at the local level, but that did not happen. According to him, the preliminary results of local elections are “a brutal awake from reality” in the face of victory the Vetevendosje Movement had achieved in the February 14th parliamentary elections, where it won over 50 per cent of the vote. The result, as it says, is lack of investments in human resources and candidacies for mayors.

“There has been a major rift between dynamic developments within the municipalities and the candidacy of the Vetevendosje Movement, and for that reason it has influenced, so that the party, which dominates the political scene in the Parliament and Government, will not have the expected” result.

“PDK, LDK and AAK will be together in the runoff against LVV”

He has added that other parties -- the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo -- have so far achieved greater successes than the Vetevendosje Movement. He estimates that in municipalities, where races will be held in the run-off, all three parties will co-operate in the face of the Vetevendosje Movement.

It is expected that other parties, The PDK, the LDK and the AAK co-operate in the runoff, in order to defeat Vetevendosje Movement candidates because they consider this to be reflected at the central level, in the upcoming elections, as their and common opponent is the Vetevendosje Movement. They will do their best to undermine the possibility of repeating February 14th in the upcoming (parliamentary) ”, Mujadir stressed.

Albanians search sidewalk schools, Serbs living in their “tros”

He has also said that in most municipalities where former mayors have again run, even for a mandate, the same have not achieved victory but have gone to the runoff. According to him, this is a voter's order for relevant parties that do not have the courage to carry out internal reforms, but that those reforms and changes were imposed by citizens' votes.

Gogic: Construction support for Serbian List

Meanwhile, in Serb majority municipalities, in the opinion of politician Ognjen Gogic, the results of the October 17th elections have been defined since before and it has been well known that the Serbian List will win in these municipalities. In a conversation with Radio Free Europe, he says however, the results in Serb majority municipalities are not the reflection of the enormous support Serb List claims to be real, as well as the propaid homogenisation of the Serb community.

This level of support, exit to the votes and support of the Serbian List is designed, because it is a public secret to how the campaign takes place. So, the Serbian List is the only one that has infrastructure and has networks on the ground. It means, there are always local self-government institutions from both Kosovo and Serbia systems, which always make themselves available to the campaign. All those who use those services are forced to vote. Also brought are people from central Serbia, so displaced persons to vote. So, this is completely constructed”, Gogic said.

“Percents in Klocott and Shtrpce, unwanted for Serbian List”

He added that the results in two municipalities -- in Klokot, where they will go to the runoff and in Shrpca, where the Serbian List candidate received 59 per cent of the vote -- are totally undesirable from the Serbian List.

This is not something the Serbian List has wanted to see. Also, this percentage in Shrpca has not been desirable. They want them everywhere to have over 80 percent. Perhaps the biggest challenger was Branimir Stojanovic in Gracanica. But it has previously been the framework of the Serbian List and people have so perceived it, and it has not been able to present itself as any alternative in front of Serbian List”, Gogic said.

He stressed that the way the Serb List has won in Serb majority municipalities is initially harmful to the position of the Serb community. According to him, in 2017 there were more pluralism and alternatives that have opened up some important issues to the Serb community. But, as he said, already many issues of interest to the Serb community “will remain in the shadows”, because there are no challenging voices about the Serbian List.

In the 2017 local elections, the largest number of municipalities, eight of them, had won the Democratic League of Kosovo. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo had won in seven municipalities, the Democratic Party of Kosovo in five municipalities, the Vetevendosje Movement in three municipalities, the Alliance for New Kosovo and the Initiative had won from one municipality, as well as two independent candidates won in two municipalities. The Serbian list had won in all 10 Serb-run populated municipalities, as well as the Democratic Turkish Party of Kosovo in a municipality. / REL/