The Vetëvendosja movement insists that Lista Srpska cannot be certified for the elections in Kosovo without a decision voted in the CEC. The EU calls for non-politicization of the certification of electoral lists
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, accused the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, of trying to prevent the participation of Lista Srpska in the February 9 parliamentary elections in Kosovo. According to Vucic, Kurti sees the Serbian List as “the main opponent in the February 9 parliamentary elections”.
VUCIQ: THE SERBIAN LIST WILL MAKE KURTI’S POSITION DIFFICULT
In an interview for Serbian public television, President Vučić said that the international community has so far reacted correctly to this approach. The Vetëvendosja movement launched a complaint to the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Submissions, after the Central Election Commission said that the decision of the PZAP, on the certification of the Serbian List for participation in the February 9 elections, is mandatory and must be implemented.
“Kurti has only one essential opponent, that is Lista Serbe. And now all the conspiracy theories and those who said they are doing it by agreement have fallen into the water. Everything Kurti did, he did it to destroy the Serbian List and the Serbian people” , said the Serbian president, adding that “the Serbian people in Kosovo know this and I believe that the Serbian List, participating in the elections in Kosovo, can fight for the nine or ten mandates of the Serbs, which will make Kurti’s position significantly more difficult in the next period”.
SELF-DETERMINATION: ATTACK ON LEGAL ORDER
The Vetëvendosja movement, led by Albin Kurti, in its complaint about the Srpska List, says that “taking the decision on behalf of the Central Election Commission, for the certification of Srpska, but without the approval of this commission, is an attack on the legal order because of the Serbian List “. “Each decision of the CEC must be subject to voting by its members. This decision does not belong to the CEC, because it was not voted on. It is illegal because it conflicts with the Law on General Elections. While the Serbian List has not been certified in accordance with the Law, it has been illegally smuggled”, says the complaint of Vetëvendosje.
Representatives of this party continue to insist that Lista Srpska, which has the support of Belgrade, “is engaged in terrorist acts in Kosovo”.
The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said this a few days ago through her cabinet, who estimates that “Serb List is engaged in terrorist acts, acts of aggression and violation of the constitutional order”. Therefore, according to the President, she believes that “the CEC should decide independently”. “Every decision issued by the CEC must be respected, as part of the commitment to the rule of law and the preservation of institutional integrity”, President Osmani is quoted as saying.
EU: POLITICIZING THE CERTIFICATION OF VOTER LISTS WOULD BE BACKWARD
International authorities have expressed concern about the approach to the non-certification of the Serbian List, while the European Union said that “the politicization of the certification of electoral lists would be a setback for Kosovo”. The European Union called for electoral lists in Kosovo to be certified according to legal criteria and for all candidates to have the opportunity to participate in free and fair elections. “As long as Kosovo and its citizens enjoy a vibrant democracy, the non-certification of a political party due to political considerations and not legal procedures would mark a serious step back”, says the EU’s reaction.
Connoisseurs of election issues say that the non-certification of Srpska at the first meeting of the CEC is part of the pre-election campaign of the ruling party.
The director of the Democratic Institute of Kosovo NDI, a network of non-governmental organizations that constantly monitors election processes, said that, “the democratic development of a country is not measured by the number of votes it wins, but by the respect of freedoms and the functioning of justice for all citizens, including minority communities”.
“The decision of the Supreme Court shows once again that the Kosovar society, despite the actions of daily politics, political tensions, has managed to build some standards that guarantee the preservation and development of democracy. Electoral integrity and the right to choose and to be chosen are the basic standards of a democratic country”, said Kryeziu.
Lista Srpska is the largest party of Kosovo Serbs and enjoys the support of official Belgrade.
In 2022, all the members of this party resigned collectively from the institutions of Kosovo, as a sign of opposition to the decisions of the Kosovo authorities for the extension of authority in the entire territory of the country. Now Lista Srpska has declared that it will participate in the February 9 elections, which constitute the first regular election process in Kosovo, after the declaration of independence in 2008.
In the parliamentary elections in Kosovo on February 9, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has certified 27 political subjects, of which: 19 political parties, 5 coalitions, 2 citizen initiatives and 1 independent candidate. Five of the certified political entities are from the ranks of the Kosovo Serb community. Last Saturday, the Central Election Commission certified the list of more than two million voters, while the lottery for the ranking of the political parties on the ballots is expected. (DW)
