Maliqi: The elections in the north should be held, these are the two scenarios waiting for us

That's what the famous publicist Shkelzen Maliqi is saying.

Maliqi said the elections will likely be postponed not only because of the boycott of the Serbian List, but also because of the lack of basic conditions for their completion.

Serbia's “List is Belgrade's instrument and not the political force that decides for its own exit or failure to go to the polls. If on April 23rd in the four municipalities in northern Kosovo, which are autumn-free local government bodies, the elections are not held due to the Serb voter boycott, then it should be considered that the elections were not allowed by the Serbian government in Belgrade, not that the Serb List has done so. It must be remembered that under the constitutional rules and the CEC decision, the elections had to be held three months ago, on December 18th, but was delayed at the request of international factors. Even the current situation is not favourable for holding elections, and they are likely to be postponed again not only because of the warned boycott of the Serbian List, but also because of the lack of basic conditions for their regularity and prosperity. The infrastructure is missing for elections” he said.

Publicist Maliqi said that even if only a few parties -- Albanian, Bosnian -- and some Serbs indicted by Belgrade -- participated in the elections, the percentage of voter exit would be too small.

Maliqi points out that it would be better not for the elections to be held without a political agreement being reached that would enable the involvement of the Serbian List.

When Serbs left the institutions of Kosovo, they also issued election commissions and supervisors, numerators, etc. Then I don't believe that it's clear the question of deployments, they usually opened up in school objects, but it's pretty sure there will be facilities by school directors, so it can't even be allowed to put boxes to the polls. From the CEC, there is evidence that alternative voting scenarios are under consideration, but not even if they are kept, whatever they know in the barracks, hardly for the short time left will ensure the regulation and legitimacy of participation, if only certain parties -- Albanian and Bosnians -- were to participate in the election, however, but even some of the parties of Serbs untaught by Belgrade. But, by percentage they would be very irelevant, likely under 5 %s, so it is better that the elections are not held at all without reaching a political agreement that would enable the involvement of the Serbian List” Maliqi said

He further added that Belgrade, with such maneuvers it is doing in the north of the country, wants to win in time by delaying implementation of the Ohrid Agreement.

“I believe that they will not be held on April 23rd, but Albanian authorities will insist on several more days to observe the legal procedures that the key to failure remain in Belgrade's responsibility and middleship, because even after reaching the Ohrid Agreement, it makes the normalisation of the situation by supporting the Serbian List's containment requirement that the elections should not be held without the priorisation of the majority Serb population municipalities. And since municipalities in the north have not been functional since November, there is no way to become the Association, elections have also been announced for those municipalities to be refuncted. Belgrade, with these boycott maneuvers of Kosovo institutions in the north, wants to win in time by complicating and delaying implementation of the Ohrid” agreement.

He says that to move from this situation right now, the intervention of the United States and the EU is necessary again, and if that doesn't happen it's the next scenario, that of destabilising and crisis.

To move from the new blockade, the US and EU interventional diplomatic and EU interventional campaign must be activated again, and for that concept reconciliation must be achieved, then elections come. This dynamic is definitely calling for the postponement of elections, perhaps even until the fall of this year, to manage the entire process in several steps. So, first comes the concept of association within the state framework of Kosovo, then comes elections, and in the third step the functioning of association with chosen people. In parallel, all other agreements reached in Brooksley Dialogue would have to be implemented, because this was agreed on in Brussels and Ohrid”

But this is the optimistic script of opigmal, if the West is engaged. The next scenario is that of outbursts of discontent and destabilizing crises if extreme political forces are allowed or blocked. First of all, there is expected to be unrest in the north inspired by organised crime that concerns Serbian and pro-Russian politics. The destabilising reactions could also come from internal developments in Serbia, where the right opposition -- and not only that -- sees the chance to lead Vuciqi from power. This could compromise the Serbian regime before internationals, but it's more dangerous for us. Kosovo's government and opposition parties in their strategy should not hold the lead in their own, and the sovereign false count to take advantage of Serbian policy nonsense, without holding close and frequent consultation with the US and the EU, so not to go ahead with that presumptuousness and policy, which last year created the conviction that Prime Minister Kurti has not been co-operative with Western, but considered part of the problem. Now that he's well-placed and pragmatistic, he needs to repair the trusting approach to the West” Maliqi said in an interview given about “Gazeta Blic”