Access to municipal facilities, new mayors' first challenge

The four young Albanian mayors in municipalities in northern Kosovo agree that they will find access to their new offices difficult, as most are found in the facilities of Serb parallel structures.

They say they are aware of the challenges, but expect help from the Kosovo government to enable them to start their work.

Eugen Cakoli from the Kosovo Democratic Institute and Serbian politician Ognjen Gogic say the first obstacles to which these elected mayors will face will be access to municipal objects, giving solemn oath and effective exercise of the mandate.

In an extraordinary April 23rd election for the chairman of these Serb-run municipalities -- North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposaviq -- have competed with nine Albanians and a candidate from the Serb community.

According to preliminary results of the Central Election Commission, Vetevendosje Movement candidates Erden Attic and Lulzim Hetemi have won in northern Mitrovica, respectively, in Leposaviq. Meanwhile, candidates of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Izmir Zeqiri and Ilir Peci, have won in Zubin Potok, Zvecan, respectively.

In the April 23rd elections, in all four municipalities, 1,567 citizens or 3.47 per cent of the voter body of 45,095 citizens have voted eligible.

The Serbian List, the largest party of Kosovo Serbs, has refused participation in these elections, while members of the Serb community in the country's northern municipalities have not responded to Pristina authorities' calls to go to the polls.

Serbian List Deputy Chairman Milan Radociq said Sunday that the Serbian people in Kosovo “would never allow” for Serb majority municipalities in the country's north to be led by those who won “1 or 2 per cent of the vote” in the election. He did not specify what measures can be taken.

Municipal objects and presidential oath

Eugen Cakoli from the Kosovo Democratic Institute tells Radio Free Europe that the elected mayors on April 23rd are legal, but do not have practical legitimacy and representatives, because they have not received votes from the Serb community, which is majority in the four municipalities in the country's north.

According to him, the first problem the new heads will face will be physical access to municipal objects, in most of which the structures working on Serbia's system are also located.

“Afat 30 days, following the certificate of election results, is relatively short. If no creative modalization is found, I believe it will be extremely difficult for each of the four new mayors to be able to give the oath in the municipal object, respectively. So, it's extremely difficult to say, not to say impossible for these mayors to achieve this civic will, that of the Albanian community in these municipalities, in practice, materialise and live in practice, by functioning institutions and by providing” services, Calcoli says.

He adds that even if the mayors give their vows, it will be a formalism that will in practice have no effect.

Similar sentiments are shared by politician Ognjen Gogic. He estimates that the big challenge will be to complete municipal assemblies, before which mayors, legally, must take the oath.

If any elected chairman fails to carry out this procedure within the 30-day legal deadline, then he is again transferred to the elections.

Even if they take office and are officially announced mayors, the question is how they will work in those municipalities, considering that there are no more cadres in them, there is no such thing as servants. They all quit. So when they would have to lead those local self-governments in those municipalities, they would have no one to rely on to implement decisions. They don't even have objects, because in some of these municipalities, they share spaces with temporary organs working according to the Serbian system”, Gogic tells Radio Free Europe.

“The government should help us”

The candidates, who, according to preliminary results, won in four municipalities in northern Kosovo, expect to face challenges, for overcoming which they say they will seek the support of the Government of Kosovo.

Physical access to municipal facilities in Leposaviq, Zubin Potok and Zvecan, the new mayors of these municipalities acknowledge that it will be a challenge for them and their cabinets, because the structures of so-called temporary organs working under Serbia's system are present.

Meanwhile, the North Mitrovica municipality has its object, where services are located within the Kosovo system.

Vetevendosje Movement candidate Erden Attic, as the most voted in the North Mitrovica mayoral race, said Sunday before reporters that he sees no problem with access to the municipality.

“As in a normal municipality in an average neighbourhood of the Republic of Kosovo. For all challenges, we are aware and prepared. I will be chairman of all, whether they're supporters or not, Attic said.

Lulzim Hetemi, also the candidate of the Vetevendosje Movement, who received the most votes for the chairman of the Leposaviqi municipality, tells Radio Free Europe that they have, in advance, received the promise from the Kosovo government that it will help functional local institutions.

Now he has to help us. It has promised to make investments, both Albanians and Serbs. Let's see how he's gonna react now”, Hetem says.

Waiting for Government Decision

But, Democratic Party of Kosovo candidate Ilir Peci, who has won the race for mayor of Zvecan, says about REL that challenges are expected, and one of them is access to the municipality.

Now all depends on Kosovo institutions on what decision we will make. Now us and our team, do they take us to the Zvecan municipality [in the municipal object]? That's a bit of a problem. The government should tell us what decision to make. So, let's act on us or Government help us. There are some things I can't finally say exactly”, says Peci.

Izmir Zeqiri from the PDK, who, according to the CEC's preliminary results, has won the race for mayor of Zubin Potok's municipality, says the municipality has other objects, or the offender, in the settlements of this Albanian-run municipality, which can be exploited by the new leadership structure of the municipality, if the main object is not freed from the structures of the Serbian state.

We're not going to get the object right now, but we consider it possessed. The priorities are consolidation, forming the government cabinet and offering to include all of them [the Serb community members]. I will extend the invitation to lock the system, work together”, Zeqiri points out.

Meanwhile, former Local Power Minister Sadri Ferati tells Radio Free Europe that the new mayors of municipalities should predict how to act in the event there may be any boycott of municipal administration.

The mayor, without the administration's share, cannot provide services for citizens. Will there be a boycott? There may also be calls for citizens not to receive services in the municipality. Then, even the pressure that will be put on Serbs to not co-operate with the new elected”, Ferati says.

Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs Jedal Svecla has voiced conviction that the new mayors of municipalities in northern Kosovo will have no problems in their work, because, as he said, the “law will be implemented throughout the country”.

Speaking to the REL, on April 23rd, Minister Svecla said the new heads “will work normally on Kosovo state objects” and that “all administration objects in the Republic of Kosovo are state property”.

Early elections in northern municipalities were held because the mayors of these municipalities all of the ranks of the Serbian List have resigned in November last year, indicating opposition to the Kosovo Government's decision to reregister Serbian illegal license plates in the Kosovo Republic.