Is there any or no extraordinary choice in the North?

On Wednesday, the deadline set by the Central Election Commission for application of candidates for elections scheduled to be held in four northern Kosovo municipalities.

This party has announced that it does not participate in the elections. He has not even applied to participate in this election despite international advice.

Dusan Radakovic said that without any quick political agreement, it is quite certain that extraordinary local elections in the north will be postponed “most likely to June”. He argues that Serbs have also left municipal election commissions and that, simply, no one has to organise the whole process.

Another problem, according to him, is that without political agreement, the Kosovo Central Election Commission will have nowhere to open the polls.

“Without any serious political agreement and participation of Serbian candidates, I fear there will be no electoral process”, Radakovic tells Radio Free Europe.

So far, the practice has been for the polls to open in educational institutions, but those in Serbian areas operate in the Serbian system, so it is possible that directors will not allow their objects to be exploited.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq, after a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, on March 18th in Ohrid, has said elections in the north could be postponed for June.

I will not speak on behalf of the Serbian List. I just need to talk to those people. I need to see whether [the elections] should be held now or in June, we will see”, Vuciq said.

The Serbian List, the leading party of Kosovo Serbs, has announced that it will not participate in the next extraordinary local elections in municipalities in northern Kosovo, due to “consequences of continued institutional violence”, which “implements the regime of Albin Kurti”.

“First of all, due to the failure to meet our clear demands, which were the reasons why we left Kosovo institutions, the formation of the Association of Serbian municipalities and the withdrawal of all special forces from the north of Kosovo”It says on notice.

Serbian List stresses decision not to participate in these elections has been taken in accordance with The view of the citizens it represents in the years”

The extraordinary elections for the mayors of northern Mitrovica, Leposaviqi, Zvecan and Zubin Potok have been announced on April 23rd, as Serbian List leaders have resigned because of the Kosovo Government's decision to implement the process of reregistering vehicles from Serbian license plates to Kosovo's license plates.

The elections warned earlier, on December 18th of last year, were postponed at the request of the international community.

The deadline for submitting candidacys expired on 22 March. Kosovo's Central Election Commission has indicated that there are no new applications, but that candidacy has only been confirmed to those applying for participation in the December 18th elections. That means there are a total of 11 candidates from four political subjects, of whom only two are of the Serb community.

The rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Violet Von Cromon, has reacted after the Serbian List will not participate in elections to be held in northern Kosovo.

Cremon demanded that this political subject soon hand over the election list.

“We deeply regret the Serbian List's refusal to participate in elections in northern Kosovo. We seek to hand over its electoral list without delay. The appeal for all relevant Kosovo and Serbian actors to demonstrate commitment to the February 27th and Annex Agreement, both in word and with actions”, has written Cromon in Titter.

Even Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen, deputy head of Germany's Embassy mission in Serbia, said on Wednesday that without the participation of Kosovo Serbs in early local elections to be held in the four municipalities in the country's north, the Association of Serb Major Communities would not be established.

Meier-Wiefhausen, reports Serbian news agency “Beta” has clarified that the formation of the Serb majority municipalities' Association is not possible unless the candidate lists for local elections have surrendered.

In a debate held in Belgrade on the topic: “Nothing between the European Proposal for normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina”, the German diplomat stated that “if you have no officials, mayors, you cannot create a municipal association”.

You have no institutions. You need those institutions. So simple is”, the German diplomat has indicated, in the debate organised by the European Movement in Serbia and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Meanwhile, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has written in his account at Titter on March 23rd that the Serb List's refusal to participate in local elections is <x0 parts of Belgrade's control of the party and of continuing intervention in Kosovo's internal affairs”.

Since 2013, when this party was formed, it has received over 90 per cent of the votes from the Serb community in almost all of Kosovo's elections.

However, the EU observer mission regularly mentions in reports that, the Serbian List has “monopolised political life among Kosovo Serbs”.