BRUSSELS / PRISTINA – The European Union considers that the decision of Kosovo authorities not to allow Serbia’s elections to be held in Kosovo is not in line with the spirit of dialogue, the principle of protecting the rights of non-majority communities, and building trust between Kosovo and Serbia, Koha reported.
EU Spokesperson Peter Stano said that the EU recommends resuming practices to allow Kosovo Serbs to vote inside the country during the 17 December parliamentary elections.
“We regret to note that the established practice of allowing Kosovo Serbs to vote for the Serbian parliamentary elections with the facilitation of the OSCE was not allowed again by the Kosovo authorities”, Stano said. According to him, it is essential that eligible Serbian voters residing in Kosovo can exercise their basic rights.
Responding to the EU statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, wrote on X that no elections are planned for this year in Kosovo.
“If authorities of other countries would prefer to organize elections in Kosovo for their diaspora, they need to ask our authorities for a positive decision and support officially. Trying to organize such elections without a prior request or positive decision, is not in the spirit of the dialogue and does not contribute to trust building. There can be no decision as long as there is no official direct request. Mr Stano is supposed to know this”, Bislimi wrote.
1/2 No elections are planned for this year in our country. If authorities of other countries would prefer to organize elections in Kosova for their diaspora, they need to officially ask our authorities for a positive decision & support.https://t.co/cdzlLWqq0l
— Besnik Bislimi (@BislimiBesnik) November 30, 2023
As a result of the Kosovo Government decision, Serbian voters will have to travel to cities in southern Serbia to vote in the upcoming 17 December parliamentary elections.
The last parliamentary elections organized by Serbia for the Serbian community in Kosovo took place on 21 June 2020. These elections were held according to the previous practice, where votes were collected by the OSCE mission in Kosovo. The ballots were then counted in Raška and Vranje, two border towns in Serbia. The Kosovo authorities permitted it until Prime Minister Albin Kurti came into power.
For the first time, Kosovo authorities prohibited voting in Kosovo during the referendum on constitutional changes held in Serbia in January 2022. As was the case last year, the Kosovo government insists that Serbia needs to send a direct request to Kosovo authorities to permit the holding of the elections. However, Serbia rejected such a request, citing that it would be recognition of Kosovo’s independence. Efforts by the EU to bring the two sides closer were unsuccessful.
Milica Andrić Rakić, the program manager of the non-governmental organization New Social Initiative from Kosovo, stated to EWB that the decision by the institutions in Pristina was expected, as there had been no prior pressure to enable voting for Serbs during the previous parliamentary elections.
“If there had been a change in approach to this issue, it would have been an indicator that something is moving in a positive direction in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, but this clearly shows that the dialogue is stagnating,” remarked Andrić Rakić.
According to her, the direct consequence of Pristina’s decision will be reflected in voter turnout. She mentioned that last year when voting was not allowed in Kosovo for the first time, the turnout was significantly lower. Andrić Rakić noted that about 20,000 fewer people voted when elections were not allowed on the territory of Kosovo compared to previous instances.
“I had to vote in Tutin, a town in Serbia about 20 kilometers away from my place of residence in Kosovo. I spent five hours traveling to the polling station, voting, and returning. For people who have to organize themselves and travel so far to vote, they must have a strong motivation” expressed Andrić Rakić.
She believes that those primarily participating in the parliamentary elections will be individuals working in institutions for which transportation will be organized. “Therefore, they will be expected to vote for the parties whose members are in those institutions, and in our case, exclusively the candidates of the Serbian List or the Serbian Progressive Party,” concluded Andrić Rakić.