What after the vote Sunday in the north?

Albanian mayors of four Serb majority municipalities in northern Kosovo will provide themselves at least a year of secure governance if they are not replaced by members of the Serb community on Sunday, says Eugen Cakoli, of the Kosovo Democratic Institute for Kosovo. Free Europe Radio.

He emphasises whether voting to fire mayors April 21 It does not result in success, the new initiative to that end will not be possible in the next 12 months.

This circumstance is significant because it makes it impossible to hold extraordinary elections in those municipalities, especially if we have in mind the fact that in 2025 the regular local elections will be held, which are usually proclaimed in the second quarter of the preliminary year [in this case in 2024]”, Calcol says.

On the other hand, politicologist from Belgrade Ognjen Gogic estimates that Albanian leaders who remain in power can deepen the crisis and re-grow tensions on the ground.

The majority Serb population in northern Mitrovica, Leposaviq, Zvecan and Zubin Potok do not accept Albanian leaders, but probably, on April 21st, do not vote for their departure. This, after the Serbian List of Serbs in Kosovo, which is supported by Belgrade, invited them to the boycott.

For the chairman's dismissal, the option “will need to be surrounded by at least 50 per cent plus one eligible voter in each of the four municipalities in northern Kosovo.

What do citizens in the north say?

Get them out of Leposavich says he doesn't see a way out. He believes that the situation, following Sunday's vote, will only be normalised with the international community's assistance.

“It's a hard time, no one knows what it will be like [after Sunday]. The elections should be held, but how this is an issue that wants a bigger deal”, he says.

This crisis will hardly end”, says Stojadin, also from Leposaviqi.

Bogdani from North Mitrovica also believes the crisis will deepen and adds that “forecasts for the Serb people in Kosovo are not good”.

For his fellow city, Marija, the situation of Serbs in Kosovo has never been worse”.

There are huge political currents playing a role here and everything will weigh on the backs of citizens”, she says.

The April 21st vote is organised on the basis of the Administrative Guide that the Government of Kosovo drafted, following international community pressure to declare new elections in municipalities in the north.

Albanian leaders took power there, after the Serbian List called on citizens to boycott the April 2023 elections, which were organised after the Serb departure from Kosovo institutions in November 2022, even then at the Serbian List initiative.

This party, meanwhile, called for new elections, supported the citizens' petition for the mayors' dismissal, but, on April 7th, announced it would not participate in the vote for the chairmans' dismissal.

As one of the reasons, the Serbian List cited an outdated voter list.

Gogic says that the Serbian List chose “smaller resistance line” and adds it should make more effort and explain to citizens why it is important that the April 21st vote be successful.

“They found it difficult to mobilise people in sufficient numbers and then -- not to grant legitimacy to this vote -- chose boycott”, Gogic says, remembering that this stance was criticised even by QUINT countries: The United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany.

“The local inefficient self-government problem”

Gogic says that after Sunday's vote, Albanian mayors will feel <x0 powerful”, because they will not be replaced and can continue to make decisions that the local Serb population does not support. In this way, he says, they will deepen the gap already existing.

The problem here is not only that there are no mayors reflecting the will of the population, but that municipal structures are inefficient, given that municipal officials have also left the institutions [in 2022] and there has been no adequate replacement of personnel”, he says.

Nenad Radosavlevic, director of the Department of Sports, Youth and Culture in the Leposaviqi municipality, confirms that municipalities do not work on their full capacity.

The most important “is budget spending on some very important projects and it is moving very slowly. We don't have people qualified to announce tender procedures... We have a big problem, we're running people from other municipalities. But this will not continue unless the Kosovo government reacts to”.

Radsavlevic has said earlier that he has agreed to be director of the Department of Sports, Youth and Culture in the Leposavic municipality, in order to use the planned budget until the crisis in the north continues.

Now, it demonstrates the belief that a way to announce new elections in municipalities in the north will be found and that everything “will be returned to normal”.

Recent Preparations Ahead of Vote

Although it seems Sunday's vote will be unsuccessful, the Kosovo Central Election Commission is making final preparations.

According to published guidelines, citizens can respond with “Po” or “Jo” on whether they agree to the chairman of one of the four municipalities in northern Kosovo be dismissed.

The polling stations will be open between 7:00 and 7:00.

But what is not yet known is where the polling stations will open.

The recent local elections, in April 2023, were held in the container because the directors of educational institutions did not give permission for polling stations to be opened in their environments, which was a practice earlier. Education institutions in the majority Serb environments in Kosovo work under the Serbian system.

The CEC said 33 educational institutions refused to offer their facilities for voting either against the departure of Albanian mayors in northern Mitrovica, Leposaviq, Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

Also, it was said that it is working intensively to find new alternative locations, which will serve as voting stations on April 21st, although the “law forces municipalities and school directors to offer public facilities for voting purposes”.

Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs Jedal Svecla said on April 18th that police or the Interior Ministry are ready to help the CEC organise a good and peaceful vote.