Serbs in northern Kosovo boycott referendum to remove ethnic Albanian mayors

the spokesperson of the Central Election Commission of Kosovo (CEC) Valmir Elezi announced that as of 3:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. Bulgarian time) more than 200 people had voted in the referendum in Northern Kosovo, the “Koha ditore” newspaper reported, quoted by BTA. As of this hour, not a single person has voted in the municipality of Zvechan, and voter turnout in general is defined as very low.

According to data from the Central Election Commission, the total number of voters in the four northern Kosovo municipalities, in which there is a referendum today, is 46,556 people.

In the four municipalities of Zvečan, Zubin Potok, Leposavich and Severna Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, mostly inhabited by Serbs, citizens today voted “for” or “against” the removal of the ethnic Albanian municipal mayors. These are the mayors of Zvechan Ilir Peci, Zubin Potok Izmir Zechiri, Leposavich Lulzim Hetemi and North Mitrovica Erden Atich.

The referendum in Northern Kosovo is being held against the background of calls by the main party of the Kosovo Serbs “Serbska Lista” to boycott the voting in these municipalities, notes the newspaper “Koha ditore”.

Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs do not recognize Kosovo’s declared independence in 2008. The two countries are conducting a dialogue to normalize their relations under the auspices of the EU.

The Central Electoral Commission of Kosovo called on the citizens of the four northern municipalities to use their right to vote in the referendum.

The referendum was reached after the local elections in Kosovo on April 23 last year, in the four municipalities in which they are the majority, the Kosovo Serbs boycotted the vote and the voter turnout was 3.5 percent. As a result, Kosovo Albanians were elected mayors of these municipalities, causing tension both locally and between Belgrade and Pristina.

Following rising tensions in northern Kosovo following the inauguration of new mayors and persistent demands by international actors for new elections there, the Kosovo government introduced an administrative instruction in September last year that allows Kosovar citizens to seek removal of mayors of municipalities from office through a petition, Radio Free Europe recalls.

If the release of the municipal mayors is voted today, for which 50 percent plus one votes of those entitled to vote are required, new local elections will be organized.

According to Ismet Kruesiu from the non-governmental organization “Democracy in Action”, the referendum in Northern Kosovo failed due to low voter turnout.

Democracy in Action is a network of non-governmental organizations in Kosovo that promotes free and fair elections by monitoring the electoral process, informing voters and advocating for electoral reform, the organization said on its official Facebook page.

Kruesiu pointed out a number of technical and organizational problems surrounding the election process, such as the announcement of the polling stations by the CEC only yesterday, the lack of signs indicating where the stations are, as well as placing the ballot boxes in places right in front of the surveillance cameras, which does not guarantee a secret vote.

The Central Election Commission rejected the latest accusation, saying that the installation of cameras in polling stations, a first for Kosovo, in no way violated the confidentiality of the vote.

Kruesiu added that the election process was peaceful, but there was no interest on the part of the citizens to participate in it, which, according to him, was influenced by the position of “Serbian List”.

Representatives of the local prosecutor’s office in the four municipalities in Northern Kosovo and the Kosovo Police are responsible for security during the referendum, “Koha ditore” reported, referring to the national coordinator for the elections from the State Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo, Lyaura Pulja.

The general security situation in Northern Kosovo around the referendum is also monitored by the EU mission for the rule of law in Kosovo (EULEX), its head, Giovanni Pietro Barbano, wrote in “X”. According to Barbano, EULEX’s monitoring is carried out in coordination with the Kosovo Police and the NATO Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo (KFOR).

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (8:00 a.m. Bulgarian time) and will close at 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. Bulgarian time).