After the April 23rd elections, will the four mayors of Kosovo's northern municipalities be held?

While the same does not say Minister of Management and Power Local (MAPL), Elbert Krasniqi, as according to him in the coming days it is expected to become their institution.

Krasniqi for Telegrafi said that in the coming days individually they will set up all sessions for the constitutionalisation of the heads of four northern municipalities.

He said that during the meeting that they held Thursday with the four new mayors of the northern municipalities have talked about future processes.

We met the elected mayors of four northern municipalities yesterday. We've been talking about future processes... we've once again stated our institutional duty as the Ministry of the Line and we're in support of these asmblists and mayors in the assembly arrangement and our co-operation with them. We have agreed that in the coming days, individually we will set up all sessions with elected mayors”, Krasniqi said.

Are the four mayors of Kosovo's northern municipalities expected to be formed? Analysts say sceptical, say there may be new elections

Light Arifi for Telegrafi has said that under the law on local self-government 15 days from the date of election certificate should be collected and municipal assembly inaugurated.

According to him, there is still no information about whether four mayors and two municipal assemblies could be registered.

“According to the law on local self-government 15 days from the date of election certificate should be collected and inaugurated municipal assemblies, which fall in two municipalities that have been elected and municipal assemblies, which fall in 15 days, 12 May. The two municipal assemblies that have been chosen by these extraordinary elections, which are not happening until now we don't have any such information”, Arifi said.

He stressed that based on the Law on Local Self - Governance since the Certificate date in 30 days, the elected mayors must be sworn in, which according to him, “this is seen to be very far away from the” horizon.

“Even for the mayors of municipalities regarding the Law on Local Self-Government, regardless of what the government says, we should refer to the current official laws in the Republic of Kosovo as saying that from the date of the Certificate within 30 days they must give the oath or solemn declaration of elected mayors, which falls the most until May 28th, they must swear before municipal assembly, and that is seen as being far away from the” horizon, Arifi said.

Arifi also argued that there will be a choice, but that as he said, he cannot know when they will be held.

The “depends on political agreements whether they will be implemented and whether they will agree on issues that have pledged to implement the Brussels and Ohrid Agreement within September or earlier on having elections in these four northern municipalities... even if these mayors swear again their work will usually be very pale and very impossible from the local population there”, Arifi said.

Even Arton Demhay from the organisation “Arise” stressed that given the lack of legitimacy of elections that have been held, it is hard to expect the four new leaders to be decreed.

Demhaaj said the Kosovo government is being pressured by the European Union (BE) for these mayoral mandates to be burned.

And the prime minister himself has said in a way that these are not the mayor, as he said with the U large, but with the smaller one. And that means there's something wrong with this process, add to the official requirements that the prime minister's adviser has, admit, there's pressure from the EU that these mandates should burn”, he said.

Also, Demhaje said: “The other issue related to the difficulties of getting the mandate and carrying out the task, considering that there will be engagement of Serbian criminal groups in the north that could undermine their mandate, which could send the country to an end of the situation there. Lajcak also said the situation in the north is whether they want confrontation or improvement ... and he said improvement and regulation of relations are needed there. All of this if we take this and analyze it, there probably won't be a decree for the new heads of”.

Furthermore, he declared that it has always been of the opinion that elections in the north cannot be held unless there is any political agreement between the Brussels-brokered two sides.

I have expected this at the March meeting when implementation of the February 27th agreement plan for holding elections is expected, but what appears to be sʹka after a” deal, Demhasaj said.

Otherwise, elections in the country's four northern municipalities have been held on April 23rd.

Under the Law on Local Self-Government Article 57.1, it is said: “The mayor who fails to take the oath within a (1) month of the certificate of election results and loses the mandate.

And Article 42.1 for municipal assemblies suggests that: The municipality's Assembly holds the inaugural meeting within 15 (15) days from the Day of Certificate of election results.

Article 42.2 The inaugural assembly assembly meeting of the municipality is called by the mayor (where it has been chosen) within 15 (15) days from the Day of Certificate of election results.

Article 42.3 If the head of the Communist Assembly does not call the meeting on duty in paragraph 2 of this article, the inaugural assembly of the municipality could be called by the oldest elected member of the municipal assembly, within 15 (15) days from the date the chairman had to call the inaugural assembly of the municipality.

Article 42.4 If the older member of the assembly does not call the meeting on his duty in paragraph 3 of this article, the inaugural assembly of the municipality could be appointed at the initiative of most elected members of the municipality.

Article 42.5 Meetings of the municipality assembly held prior to the election of mayor of the municipal assembly are chaired by the oldest member of the municipality assembly present at the meeting.