REL: Serbian list in competition to regain north, blamed for community crisis

Some civic parties and initiatives in the north also pledge that they will reconsider or abolish the former decisions of local authorities and that any new decision will be taken in consultation with citizens.

The Serbian list ʹ the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo and the only one in the country that has official Belgrade's support promises that the decisions of the current local authorities in northern Kosovo will be annulled.

In November 2022, the Serbian List initiated the withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo institutions in the north and called for boycotting local elections in April 2023.

This led to the election of Albanian mayors who remained in office until the end of the mandate, because the Serbian List, even in April of 2017, called for boycotting the vote for their dismissal.

But in the October 12th elections, this party will have mayoral candidates in all ten Serb-run municipalities in Kosovo: Northern Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposaviq, Zubin Potok, Gracanica, Shtrpca, Novoberda, Klokot, Partesh and Ranilluq, as well as in Obilic.

In addition, in Serb majority municipalities will compete: The Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival of Nenad Rashiqi, Serbian Democracy and Aleksandar Arsenijevic, Serbian National Movement and Milija Bisevac, the Kosovo Alliance of Goran Marinkovic, as well as some civic initiatives, which have candidates mainly in a municipality.

Serbian List in Battle for North

During the opening of the pre-election campaign on 13 September in northern Mitrovica, Serbian List Chairman Zlatan Ellek said that “we all looked forward to this day, the day marking the beginning of the dismissal of illegal and false [Lider of Vetevendosje and incumbent Prime Minister Albin] Kurti and his followers”.

The time has come to free our four municipalities north of Kosovo and keep all six municipalities south of the Iber” River, he said.

On the same day, a rally was held in northern Mitrovica, where candidates for municipal advisers were introduced, as well as municipality presidential candidate Milan Radojevic, who led northern Mitrovica until November 2022, when he even resigned under the collective withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo institutions.

Radojevic said at that rally that the time has come for “to return our municipalities, to return our town, to turn Mitrovica into the hands of the people of Mitrovica, and for the people of Mitrovica to lead and decide on their fate”.

But the public's attention was mostly attracted by the pancarta “all to Brother Milan” interpreted as support for Milan Radocicin, former vice president of the Serbian List, who claimed responsibility for the armed attack on Banjska in September 2023.

Because of this pankarte, the Vetevendosje Movement addressed the Electoral Panel for Ances and Parastres.

What do other political parties pledge?

The Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival addressed voters in Gracanica with majority Serb municipalities near Pristina, noting the absence of a new hospital in this municipality.

Serbian Democracy says the time has come to end the domination of the Serbian List and restore normal life.

It promises to build a market on the new bridge in northern Mitrovica, restore railway transport to Zvecan, a better future for young people in Zubin Potok, and improve the water supply and road infrastructure network in Leposaviq.

The Serbian People's Movement promises that “will work in the interest of the people, unlike those who led us to collapse”, alluding to the Serbian List.

The Kosovar Alliance promises voters that “will ban criminality” and “will build Kosovo and Metohija as a multiethnic duty of justice, freedom and prosperity”.

Several local civic initiatives have candidates only in one municipality.

One of them is the Civic Initiative “Veriu for all”, which has presented the programme for North Mitrovica with several points under the title “for the new city of hope”.

According to this initiative, the time has come to restore “dignity” and <x2 normal life”.

It also states that the decisions of “illegal authorities” will be revised and opened for public debate, and that “any harmful or imposed decision will be annulled”.

The new Civic Initiative “Popular Justice”, which has mayoral candidates in northern Mitrovica, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok, says it wants to change things and that its focus is on the daily problems of ordinary people.

The Civic Initiative “Rests”, which competes in Leposaviq, says it wants people's voice to be heard and that it is necessary for “living to be changed from roots”.

Candidate Pluralism is not accompanied by plurality of ideas

Boban Simi, from the nongovernmental organisation Centre for State of Social Action, tells Radio Free Europe that the campaign for the October 12th local elections, especially in northern Kosovo, has begun as formal pluralism, but without apparent changes in party programmes and ideas.

He emphasises that in the northern Mitrovica mayoral race there are ten candidates, but, in practice, all offer the same policies and messages, which have led the Serb community into the current institutional crisis and isolation.

The “Fudages are focused mainly on broader political issues, so it loses the possibility that citizens will have concrete and reachable solutions to their daily problems”, says Sibiu.

He adds that candidates, rather than offering feasible solutions, use rhetoric that promotes fear and discontent.

This shows that although there are many candidates, there are not many different ideas”, according to him.

However, Siqim stresses that for Serb communities and other non-US communities, it is essential that they have legitimately elected representatives.

“Although their powers are limited, they can still represent the interests of the citizens and at least partly ) restore trust to the” institutions, says Single.

The local Serb population of four municipalities in northern Kosovo does not accept Albanian mayors, so it has organised protests earlier.

According to Kosovo Central Election Commission data, in the 12 October local elections, 2,069,098 citizens have the right to vote.

Of them, 2,025.105 will vote in the polls within Kosovo, while 43.993 are registered to vote by mail from abroad.

A total of 2,625 seats will open 938 polling stations for these elections.