Valley Division: Few Albanians vote, risk being left without representatives in Serbia's Parliament

Very few Albanians are exploiting their right to vote today, when early parliamentary elections are being held in Serbia. They may remain without representation in Serbia's Parliament, while their political representatives are competing on two electoral lists. Presevo's acting chairman, Shqirim Arifi, expressed much pessimistic. He blames Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti for the division of Albanians there. Meanwhile, his opposition, who was deputy, Shaip Kamberi, hopes that the number of Albanians voting will increase and he can win another mandate. We don't have time to mourn”, he says.

The extraordinary parliamentary elections are being held in Serbia today, but there are not many Albanians who are exploiting the right to vote. Their representatives are competing divided into two electoral lists, which makes it more difficult to represent them in Serbia's Parliament.

As they heard the calls by presidents from Kosovo and Albania to vote massively, if they did not respond, they heard today the statements of Albanian Kamberi and Shqirim Arifi, the two main opposition officials on the Albanian political scene in the Valley who did not join in the race.

Acting Presevo Chairman Shqirim Arifi voted in the village of Ternava, where he pessimisticly said Albanians could win an MP's mandate in Serbia's Parliament.

It's a disaster that we see today, we've now spent over three hours opening up the positions that I've already warned the Albanians since 2022, because we've been divided. It seems that this year once more they are boycotting our two-list split. It's a disaster. As you can see, there's no collection in your own self, so it's at 38 other locations, said Arifi from the list of the Albanian Democratic Alternative “

For this boycott, Arifi said the bill should be received by the Albanian leadership. He accuses Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of supporting Camber in the Valley, dividing Albanians there.

The next edition had Shaip Kamberi, who leads the list “The Albanian political battle continues”. He was the only Albanian MP in Serbia's Parliament in the last legislative mandate.

Kamberi voted in the village of Tarnoci, where he voiced optimism that during the day the number of Albanians who will vote will increase and that they will manage to pass the “threshold needed to have a” mandate.

“I believe that in the last days of the campaign a greater intensifying has been on the ground, our meetings with people, where we have justified the importance of getting out and participating in parliamentary elections. We have information that is our citizens working in Kosovo, are now arriving in the Presevo Valley to give their vote, because we must have a representation and that representation is expressed through free vote. Citizens today have the opportunity to choose. I believe he's more than likely to respond to the invitation for the election”, Kamber said.

Despite Arifi, Kamberi said that Kosovo and Albania “cannot blame” that Albanians there are not unified in a joint list. Now, he says, “don't have time to mourn”.

By noon, few Albanians voted. The head of the Presevo Municipal Election Commission, Alban Mehmeti, said that as many as 12:00, “have voted 2100 people, or 4.8 percent of citizens”, out of 43 thousand and 500 as they have the right to vote.

In Bujanoc until 1200, 8.6 per cent of citizens voted, the head of the Municipal Election Commission there said, Fejzi Beqiri. 42,786 citizens are eligible to vote.