33 Schools Refuse Voting in the North

Directors of the thirty-three schools in the north have refused to provide access to school facilities for holding votes for the dismissal of Albanian mayors in the four Serb majority municipalities in the country's north, Central Election Commission Secretariat head Burim Ahmetaj said on Wednesday.

Voting for the dismissal of mayors in the four municipalities in northern Kosovo -- North Mitrovica, Leposaviqi, Zvecan and Zubin Potok -- will be held on 21 April, based on an administrative directive of the Kosovo Government.

Speaking at a CEC meeting in Pristina Wednesday, Ahmetaj said that in general, 33 schools have refused to offer access to their facilities for the voting process.

Schools in the country's north function according to Belgrade-based system. In the April 2023 elections, The CEC had installed containers, which serve as polling stations, since it was not allowed to open schools as regular polling stations.

He stressed that only 10 schools in all four municipalities in the north have said they could be used for next month's voting process.

Out of 18 polling stations in Leposavic, he said, only three of them are available, while other “15, directors have refused to provide use for the voting process”.

“in the municipality of Zubin Potok, from 12 polling stations approved, two of them are available, but the other 10 school principals have refused to provide for use. In the municipality of Zvecan, out of six polling stations approved, two are available, and four others have refused. While there are seven centres in the Northern Mitrovica municipality, three of them are available, while four have refused”, he added.

He said the Secretariat of the Central Election Commission “is working intensively” for finding new alternative locations that will serve as polling stations for election day on 21 April.

“Law forces these municipalities and school directors to provide for use these public objects for the voting process”, he stressed.

Currently, Albanian mayors in these municipalities have won the Serb boycotted elections in April 2023.

The issue raised tensions in 2023, which prompted the international community to insist on announcing new local elections.

However, it is now questionable whether the upcoming vote on replacing the mayors will be successful because the largest Serbian party in Kosovo has decided to withdraw from the whole process, although it has previously supported it.

Exploding north, throwing a hand grenade into a backyard