• CEC draws numbers for parties for December 28 parliamentary elections (media)
• Limaj says NISMA runs alone and that it will join PDK in parliament (Koha)
• EU won’t lift measures even after transfer of local power in Kosovo north (Koha)
• Petritsch: Move from being a problem for Europe; resume the dialogue (Klan)
• COMKFOR Ulutas meets diplomatic representatives in Pristina (media)
• Serb mayors ‘retake’ power in north Kosovo (BIRN)
• Radojevic: The condition of municipal buildings is catastrophic and shows Pristina’s stance toward Serbs (Kosovo Online, TV Prva)
• Diocese: Removal of the church flag in Lipljan is an act of intimidation against remaining Orthodox believers (Kosovo Online)

CEC draws numbers for parties for December 28 parliamentary elections (media)

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) on Sunday has drawn ranking numbers on ballots for political parties for the December 28 parliamentary elections. The numbers are as below:

111 – Nova Demokratska Stranka – NDS

112 – Kosova Demokratik Turk Partisi

113 – Partia Balli Kombetar Demokrat Shqiptar (PBKDSH)

114 - FJALA

115 – Levizja Perparimtare e Romeve te Kosoves (LPRK)

116 - Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE!

118 – Jedinstvena Goranska Partija

120 – Partia Liberale Egjiptiane

121 – Kosovski Savez

122 – Nisma Socialdemokrate

123 – Lidhja Demokratike e Kosoves – LDK

124 – Kosovaki Nevi Romani Partia

126 – Socialdemokratska Unija – SDU

127 – Srpska Lista

128 – Iniciativa e Re Demokratike e Kosoves

129 – Aleancce per Ardhmerine e Kosoves - AAK

130 – Partia Demokratike e Kosoves – PDK

133 – Partia Rome e Bashkuar e Kosoves

134 - Za Slobodu Pravdu i Opstanak

Coalitions:

132 – Koalicija Vakat

125 - PAI – PDAK – LPB

Civic initiatives:

131 - PSA

117 - Iniciativa Qytetare per Kosove

Independent candidate:

119 – Nexhmedin Sejdilar

Limaj says NISMA runs alone and that it will join PDK in parliament (Koha)

NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj said on Sunday that if his party crosses the election threshold in the December 28 parliamentary elections, then it will join the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). “With NISMA MPs in the Kosovo Assembly, I am promising tonight that if we are in the Assembly, with our parliamentary group we will do what everyone has asked from us and join the parliamentary group of the PDK. Some people prevented the unification, but no one can stop our unification in parliament with a strong parliamentary group which will bring a change in governance,” Limaj told a press conference.

Limaj also said that the next Prime Minister of Kosovo should come from the parties that have been in opposition. “The governance will change only if NISMA is in the Assembly and if the big parliamentary group of the PDK is formed,” he said.

EU won’t lift measures even after transfer of local power in Kosovo north (Koha)

Citing diplomatic sources in the EU, the news website reported on Sunday that although the EU had said for a long time that it will start lifting the penalty measures against Kosovo after the “normal transfer of local power in the northern municipalities” this is not expected to happen, at least not before the December 28 parliamentary elections.

The news website also notes that during discussions at the level of ambassadors of EU member states last week, there were divisions about the conclusions that need to be adopted at the meeting of the General Affairs Council. Koha learns that France and Italy, supported by Spain, Hungary and Slovakia, have opposed the lifting of measures against Kosovo at the last meeting. On the other hand, “at least 13 countries” have called for the removal of measures. The European Commission, according to some European diplomats, “is hiding behind some member states and is playing a double game”.

Petritsch: Move from being a problem for Europe; resume the dialogue (Klan)

Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch, in an interview with Klan Kosova, said that he was not happy when the EU imposed penalty measures against Kosovo three years ago. “I can say that when sanctions were imposed on Kosovo I was not happy at all, to be honest. Now three years later, and in a situation of a stalemate in Kosovo’s democratic development, I have a better understanding about the critics in Brussels than before,” he said.

Petritsch said that after the elections Kosovo needs a democratic and vibrant government. “So everything I can wish for is that after the December 28 parliamentary elections, there will be a result that can enable the political parties in Pristina to form a government,” he said.

Petritsch also said that Kosovo “needs to move away from being a problem for Europe. You need to continue the dialogue. Maybe a new approach is needed but the main condition is to have a democratic and vibrant government”.

COMKFOR Ulutas meets diplomatic representatives in Pristina (media)

Most news websites report that commander of the NATO-led KFOR mission, Major General Ozkan Ulutas, met with the Ambassadors of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, the Deputy Head of Mission of France and the Chargé d’Affaires, of the U.S. Embassy from QUINT Group, the EU Special Representative and the Deputy Head of Mission of Turkey at KFOR Headquarters in Pristina. “The meeting provided a valuable opportunity for the Commander to outline the security situation in the region, emphasizing KFOR's commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all people in Kosovo. In this context, General Ulutaş commended all nations’ longstanding contributions to the NATO-led KFOR mission,” a statement by KFOR notes.

Serb mayors ‘retake’ power in north Kosovo (BIRN)

Mayors from the Belgrade-backed party representing Kosovo Serbs, Srpska Lista, were sworn into office in four Serb-majority municipalities - ending a tense period in which they were overseen by Kosovo Albanians.

Serb mayors were sworn into office on Friday in the four Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo in a move seen as a retaking of power in the north of the country after a long period of boycotts and sometimes violent tensions.

The municipalities were Serb-run until late 2022, but had been led by ethnic Albanian mayors since 2023, when ethnic Serbs abandoned Kosovo institutions and boycotted local elections in a protest against the Pristina government’s policies towards the Serb minority. The ethnic Albanian mayors were elected by default on very low turnouts when Serbs stayed away from the polls.

The swearing-in of the Serb mayors, who are from the Belgrade-backed party representing Kosovo Serbs, Srpska Lista, was carried out in front of a Kosovo flag and a photo of the Kosovo president.

However, a Serbian flag was held by people who attended the ceremony. One assembly member of the municipality of Zubin Potok offered the Serbian flag to its new mayor, Milos Perovic.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/5n86s89h

Radojevic: The condition of municipal buildings is catastrophic and shows Pristina’s stance toward Serbs (Kosovo Online, TV Prva)

Mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojevic, said that citizens of the four municipalities in northern Kosovo waited three years for the moment when legally, legitimately and democratically elected mayors and councilors would take office in their municipalities. According to him, the handover process went without major problems but previously required serious preparations and intensive talks with international partners.

Radojevic stressed, among other things, that coordinated activities have taken place over the last few days to ensure the handover proceeds without obstruction.

“For instance, the leadership of the Serb List held several very important talks with international community representatives, KFOR commanders, NATO representatives, where they pointed out the possibility of obstruction by Pristina. We saw increased presence of both KFOR and Kosovo Police in recent days. Regarding that technical aspect, everything passed without major problems,” Radojevic told TV Prva on Saturday.

He added that the condition the new mayors found upon entering municipal buildings was “sad, disappointing and catastrophic.”

“That shows what kind of attitude Pristina has toward the Serbian people and citizens of these four municipalities. As you know, in the municipality of Zvecan the building is in extremely poor, catastrophic condition, where pictures that had enormous value have disappeared. Also, icons are damaged, the saints’ eyes on those icons appear to be cut out, it is truly a very sad, disappointing picture that colleagues found,” he said.

Diocese: Removal of the church flag in Lipljan is an act of intimidation against remaining Orthodox believers (Kosovo Online)

The Raska–Prizren Diocese has strongly condemned the vandalism involving the removal of the Serbian Orthodox Church flag from the bell tower of the Church of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God in Lipljan, describing it as an act of intimidation against the remaining Orthodox Christians living in the area, reported Kosovo Online on Friday.

In a statement published on the Diocese’s website, it is noted that the incident occurred on Thursday night around 6 p.m.

Read the full statement of the Diocese at: https://shorturl.at/VMRYr