Even though mayors of eight, out of ten, majority Serbian municipalities in Kosovo system of local self-governance announced on Saturday that ‘conditions do not exist for participation of Serbs’ in extraordinary parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 8 June, one of those who signed the statement, Mayor of Leposavić/Leposaviç Dragan Jablanović said to Danas that final decision will be made today.

Official Belgrade still didn’t voice its position on participation of Serbs in the upcoming Kosovo parliamentary elections, while Jablanović claims that Srpska Ticket ‘will not listen anyone and will not participate in elections, unless Kosovo Central Election Commission (CEC) doesn’t reverse to correct interpretation of the election law’.

Asked to comment why Srpska Ticket reacted on the ballot’s look only after official campaign started on 28 May, when CEC went in public with the decision five days before, Jablanović answered that it wasn’t about the final decision at that time, whereas CEC’s decisions dated 27 May on electoral commissions and new interpretation of the election law on distribution of seats are the key reasons why the decision was made on giving up the campaign, and what brought into question participation in elections.

Jablanović went on to say that he is not aware why the statement, which accuses CEC for violation of the law on general elections in Kosovo, was not signed by mayors of all majority Serbian municipalities in Kosovo. Missing signatures are of mayors of Štrpce/Shtërpcë Bratislav Nikolić from the Independent Liberal Party (SLS), which is part of Srpska Ticket, and of Novo Brdo/Novobërdë Svetislav Ivanović who, as some speculate, was ‘removed’ from Srpska Ticket by Belgrade.

Srpska Ticket, according to Jablanović, didn’t consult other four Serbian lists with regards to (non)participation in elections. He argues that ‘around 90 per cent of Serbs in Kosovo support Srpska Ticket, and that other parties are minor ones, which could only share ten guaranteed seats in the new Kosovo parliament, but which would cease to exist in next elections’.