Kosovo’s largest Serbian party, SRPSKA List, has filed a complaint to the Panel for Appeals and Appeals (ECAP), as the Central Election Commission (CEC) decided not to certify it for the October 12 local elections. This decision has caused a strong reaction from Serbia, where Foreign Minister Marko Djuric described it as “A flagrant example of political engineering aimed at the exclusion of the Serbian people from democratic life.”
Representatives of the Srpska List called the CEC’s decision “unlawful and discriminatory”, directly accusing the in office, Albin Kurti. The chairman of the Srpska List, Zlatan Ellek, said the action aims to “separate the Serbian political body” and added that they would take all legal actions to ensure the certification of their candidates.
The CEC decision came after members of the Vetevendosje Movement voted against certification, arguing that Srpska List exponents are part of Serbian parallel structures, which is unlawful. Meanwhile, members of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo abstained.
This is not the first case of such a decision, as in the February 9 parliamentary elections, the ECAP had overturned a similar CEC decision, enabling the SRPSKA participation list.
This development has also disturbed the US. Located with the US Embassy in Pristina, Anu Prattipati, expressed his concern to Albin Kurti, stressing that “all citizens of Kosovo should have the full opportunity to choose their representatives”.
The October 12 elections will be held after the boycott of the Srpska List in the previous elections, which resulted in the election of Albanian mayors in the four Serb -majority municipalities in the north of the country. This situation creates new political tension and raises questions about the next electoral process.
