UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, April 24, 2023

Albanian Language Media:

Osmani: Serbia’s engagement to obstruct elections is against Ohrid agreement (media)
Kurti: Low turnout because of intimidation and blackmail by Belgrade (media)
EU: These elections don’t offer long-term political solution for municipalities (media)
Kosovo govt statement on April 23 local elections in north (media)
Kurti and Hovenier expect full implementation of agreement reached in Ohrid (Telegrafi)
Krasniqi: Govt to enable forming of institutions in four northern municipalities (Kallxo)
Access to municipal premises, first challenge of the new mayors (RFE)
Bielamowicz: Lost opportunity for Kosovo Serbs (RTK)
Why according to Trajkovic, Radoicic called for boycott of elections (Express)
Kosovo’s application on the agenda of the Council of Europe (RFE)
PDK calls extraordinary session for Nagip Krasniqi’s arrest (EO)
Hovenier: We appreciate Iowa’s partnership with KSF (media)
Osmani: Turkish community enriches mosaic of diversity in Kosovo (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Vucic: What happened yesterday is much more than Albin Kurti’s defeat (Tanjug, media)
Serb-majority north Kosovo towns get Albanian mayors (N1)
Elections in northern Kosovo: What Belgrade and Serbs say (N1)
Petkovic: Empty ballot boxes debacle of Kurti and international community (RTS)
Jablanovic expects elections to be annulled (DW, Kosovo Online)
Arsenijevic: If the new mayor works against the interests of the Serbs, we can hold a referendum (KoSSev, N1)
Bisevac: If elections are not annulled and Albanians really take over, many people will move away (Danas)
Civil sector: The elections in the north improvised, the Serbs boycotted them (KiM radio)
Memorial service for RTS workers killed in the NATO bombing (RTS, BETA, N1)
Hill: Dialogue needs "new momentum", it is time for CSM (ZSO) (N1, Beta)

Opinion:

A debacle of half a million euros (KiM radio)

International:

North Kosovo elections trigger harsh words, criticisms from Belgrade (Euractive)
Kosovo Dreams of Turning Mining Heritage into Tourist Trail (Prishtina Insight)

Albanian Language Media

Osmani: Serbia’s engagement to obstruct elections is against Ohrid agreement (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said today that “Serbia’s continued and open engagement to obstruct the holding of free elections in the Republic of Kosovo is against the spirit of the latest agreement reached in Brussels and its implementation plan. As such, this approach from Serbia should be opposed by the whole democratic world, because it constitutes both an act of illegal interference from outside and is an act that is sanctioned by a series of international legal acts”.

Osmani thanked “all citizens that took part in voting, despite the illegal interference from Serbia and its criminal structures to prevent this. As a result of these criminal acts, many Serb citizens in these municipalities were threatened and blackmailed with the aim of preventing them from taking part in the election process and not being able to express their political will and elect their local representatives”.

Osmani said that Kosovo’s institutions will step up their efforts and stand beside all citizens in the four northern municipalities in order to protect them from the threats of illegal structures. “Kosovo’s institutions will also coordinate their actions with strategic allies to stop further destabilising actions from Serbia which are also in opposition with the latest agreement in Brussels. We are committed, together with the citizens of these municipalities, to work on increasingly better living conditions, and more democracy and well-being in every neighbourhood of every municipality,” she said.

Kurti: Low turnout because of intimidation and blackmail by Belgrade (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that there was a low turnout in the local snap elections in the four northern municipalities because of an atmosphere of intimidation and blackmail. He argued that the boycott of the elections came as a result of intimidation campaigns by Belgrade “and its criminal tools”.

Kurti congratulated the elected representatives, saying that the Kosovo government will stand by them and that they “need to work with commitment and serve without any differentiation”. “I thank the citizens for their courage and calmness,” Kurti wrote in a Facebook post.

EU: These elections don’t offer long-term political solution for municipalities (media)

Most news websites cover the statement from the European Union on Sunday’s local snap elections in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. See full statement below:

The European Union took note of yesterday’s four mayoral by-elections and two municipal assembly by-elections in the municipalities of Leposavić/q, North Mitrovica/e, Zvečan/Zveçan, and Zubin Potok.

The EU recognizes that the elections were held in line with the legal framework of Kosovo and that efforts were undertaken for them to take place in a smooth and orderly manner.

At the same time, the EU regrets that not all parties and communities made use of their democratic right to participate and vote in the elections.

The very low turnout, in particular among Kosovo Serb citizens, shows that this process is not and cannot be considered business as usual.

Participation in electoral processes has the aim to ensure that the voices of the communities the elected leaders represent, will be heard.

Since the Kosovo Serbs left Kosovo institutions in the north of Kosovo in November 2022, the EU has been consistently engaging with both Parties to facilitate their return.

These elections do not offer a long-term political solution for these municipalities. This can only happen through permanent return of Kosovo Serbs to the institutions, and for Kosovo to enable this return. The work on the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb majority Municipalities needs to be finalised as soon as possible.

It is imperative that we urgently restore a situation where Kosovo Serbs participate actively in local governance, policing and judiciary in the north of Kosovo. There is an urgent need for a serious dialogue between the Government of Kosovo and Kosovo Serbs in the north to this end. So far little progress has been made. Therefore, we need both sides to play their role and fulfil their commitments.

The Agreement on the path to normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is the right platform to achieve this objective.

The EU welcomes the professionalism of the Kosovo Police, its Rule of Law Mission (EULEX), and KFOR in ensuring a secure environment for the elections.

Kosovo govt statement on April 23 local elections in north (media)

The Kosovo government said in a statement today that Sunday’s local elections in the four municipalities in the north were quiet, peaceful, and incident-free. “The Central Election Commission and the Kosovo Police were at the height of duty in organising and offering proper conditions to exercise the right to vote. The threatening campaign orchestrated by Belgrade and executed through intimidation, pressure, and blackmail by criminal groups on the ground led to a low turnout of citizens in the elections. We thank the citizens for their courage and calmness. Elections are a manifestation of democracy, which in addition to being a civic right, are an obligation and responsibility deriving from the constitutionality and the legality of the country. At the same time, they are necessary to guarantee the normal functioning of state institutions and securing public services for the citizens. We wish the newly-elected mayors and municipal councillors a successful work in their new duties and responsibilities. The Government of the Republic of Kosovo offers its full support in the service of the citizens without any differences,” the statement notes.

Kurti and Hovenier expect full implementation of agreement reached in Ohrid (Telegrafi)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti talked today about the upcoming high-level meeting in Brussels scheduled for May 2. “I am always ready for high-level meetings that are organised with the facilitation of the European Union. The next meeting will be held in Brussels as usual, and there will be discussions on how to implement fully and without delays the Brussels agreement and the implementation annex from Ohrid,” Kurti said.

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said that the full implementation of the Ohrid agreement is very important. “Last night we issued a statement which talks about the importance of the full implementation of the Ohrid agreement and we expect this to happen,” he said.

Krasniqi: Govt to enable forming of institutions in four northern municipalities (Kallxo)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, thanked the voters after the conclusion of elections in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo on Sunday. According to preliminary results, PDK won in two municipalities, in Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

Krasniqi said it was important that the election process was fair and calm, but that a very concerning fact is that “the situation in the north has degraded as seen by the low turnout of voters”. “We now expect the Government to take on its obligations and tasks – to implement the people’s will and to enable the consolidation of institutions in the four northern municipalities,” Krasniqi said.

Access to municipal premises, first challenge of the new mayors (RFE)

The four new Albanian mayors of the municipalities in the north of Kosovo admit they will have difficulties accessing the new offices as most of them are the premises of Serb parallel municipal structures. They say they are aware of the challenges but that they expect help from the Kosovo government to start their work.

Eugen Cakolli from the Kosovo Democratic Institute and Serbian political commentator Ognjen Gogic said in interviews with the news website that among the first obstacles for the newly-elected mayors will be accessing the municipal premises, the swearing in and effectively performing their mandates.

According to preliminary results by the Central Election Commission, candidates of the Vetevendosje Movement – Erden Atic and Lulzim Hetemi – won in Mitrovica North and Leposavic. Candidates of the Democratic Party of Kosovo – Izmir Zeqiri and Ilir Peci – won in Zubin Potok and Leposavic. The Serbian List – the biggest political party of Kosovo Serbs – refused to take part in the elections, while members of the Serb community in the four northern municipalities did not heed the call from the authorities in Pristina to take part in the vote.

Cakolli told Radio Free Europe that the mayors elected on April 23 are legal but that they lack practical and representative legitimacy, because they did not get votes from the Serb community which makes up the majority in the four municipalities in the north. He said that the first problem for the new mayors will be the physical access to the municipal premises, in most of which are located structures that operate according to Serbia’s system. “The 30-day deadline, after the certification of election results, is relatively short. In case there is no creative modality, I believe that each of the four mayors will have difficulties swearing in at the municipal premises. So it is difficult – not to say impossible – for these mayors to implement the civic will from the Albanian community in these municipalities in practice,” he argued. According to Cakolli, even if the new mayors manage to swear in it would be a formality without any effect in practice.

Gogic shares a similar opinion, saying that it will be a major challenge to complete the municipal assemblies. “Even if they take up their duties and are officially announced as mayors of municipalities, the question arises how they will work in these municipalities, being that the municipal staff are no longer there, and all of them have resigned. So, when they would have to lead the local self-governments, they are not going to have whom to rely on to implement the decisions. They don’t even have premises, because in some of these municipalities they share the premises with the provisional bodies that work according to the Serbian system,” he said.

Vetevendosje’s candidate – Erden Atic – who won the race for mayor in Mitrovica North, told reporters on Sunday that he doesn’t think accessing the municipal building is a problem. “As in a normal municipality in an average neighbourhood of the Republic of Kosovo. We are aware and prepared for all challenges. I will be a mayor to all, regardless of whether they are supporters or not,” he said.

Another Vetevendosje candidate – Lulzim Hetemi – who won the most votes for mayor of Leposavic, told Radio Free Europe that he received promises from the Kosovo government that they will help him functionalise the local institutions. “Now they need to help us. They promised us investments, both among Albanians and Serbs. Let us see how they will react now,” he said.

But the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) candidate, Ilir Peci, who won the race for mayor in the municipality of Zvecan, told the news website that challenges, including accessing the municipal building, are expected. “Everything now depends on the decisions of Kosovo institutions. Are they going to send us and our team to the municipal building in Zvecan? This is somewhat of a problem. The government needs to tell us what decision we should make. Should we act or the government will help us? There are some things that I cannot say for sure at this point,” Peci said.

Izmir Zeqiri from the PDK, who won for mayor of Zubin Potok, said the municipality has other premises in Albanian-inhabited areas that can be used by the new municipal leadership if the main building is not released by the Serbian structures. “For the time being, we don’t plan to take the building, but we consider it to be usurped. My priority is consolidating the governance team and the offer to include all of them [members of the Serb community]. I will invite them to join the system and to work together,” he said.

Bielamowicz: Lost opportunity for Kosovo Serbs (RTK)

Jakub Bielamowicz, an analyst of South-East Europe and Western Balkans with the New Europe Institute, commenting on Sunday’s local snap elections in the north, said that the “low turnout is a direct result of the hostile environment and intimidation against Kosovo Serbs who no longer want to be used as a political football by Serbia. A lost opportunity for them to free themselves from the local criminal structures controlled by the regime in Belgrade”. Bielamowicz also said that “Kosovo’s Serb-majority municipalities in the north will be governed by Albanians from Kurti’s Vetevendosje and Memli Krasniqi’s PDK. Kosovo needs to be congratulated on having secured a smooth voting process despite extreme hostility by Belgrade’s proxies”.

Why according to Trajkovic, Radoicic called for boycott of elections (Express)

Rada Trajkovic, advisor to Kosovo’s Minister for Communities and Returns, argued in a Twitter post that “it was no coincidence that on behalf of the Serbian List, it was precisely M. Radoicic that called for the boycott of elections. This was done intentionally to strengthen the argument that local hardliners have forced the Serbs to boycott. The legitimate reasons of the boycott were overshadowed, and the honest motives of local Serbs have once again been played”. Trajkovic said that “in the sea of hysteria, Kosovo’s institutions must be acknowledged for their fairness in organising the elections. The voting containers might not be aesthetically pleasing, but they prevented a conflict: Pristina was right not to provoke by entering schools, which are also a symbol of the cultural identity of the Serb community”. According to Trajkovic, “the new mayors will be under tremendous pressure from the international community to be professional in their work – and ironically – to continue working on decentralisation and the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. They won’t be able to block processes or make drastic decisions, and for the time being that is enough”. Trajkovic in closing said that the boycott of the Serbian List will have no effect. “Why didn’t the SL all this time solve problems but only promoted strengthening Kosovo’s internal independence? It is apparent that those processes were not a problem to them, but that Kurti is their problem,” she said.

Kosovo’s application on the agenda of the Council of Europe (RFE)

Kosovo’s application for membership in the Council of Europe is expected to be on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg today. This is expected to start the procedure of discussing the application, one year after Kosovo applied for membership.

Kosovo’s membership bid was also among the topics in the meeting of EU foreign ministers and the CoE Secretary General, Therese Blanchet. Croatian Foreign Minister, Goran Grlic-Ramdan, confirmed this prior to the meeting. “We will have a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. I will use the opportunity to strongly support Kosovo’s request for admission into the Council of Europe,” he said.

Diplomatic sources in the EU told RFE that there is already strong support from most member states for Kosovo’s membership. They said that the advancement of Kosovo’s request is one of the achievements of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Sources however did not want to say if Serbia violated the agreement on normalisation of relations, which was reached on February 27, and which among other things notes that “Serbia will not object to Kosovo’s membership in any international organisation”. Serbian Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, recently said he will work on obstructing Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.

The news website also notes that unlike the European Union where membership applications are adopted with consensus, in the Council of Europe, the admission of a new member is done with a majority of votes. Kosovo is expected to get the required majority of votes, but it is not known yet when the whole procedure will conclude.

PDK calls extraordinary session for Nagip Krasniqi’s arrest (EO)

Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, told reporters today that the PDK will initiate an extraordinary session in the Kosovo Assembly on Wednesday about the arrest of Kosovo Power Corporation (KEK) CEO Nagip Krasniqi. “We are planning for the session to start at 11:00. There are 40 signatures from opposition MPs, and we will invite Prime Minister Albin Kurti to talk about the arrests and latest developments in KEK. It is unprecedented to defend a director that was arrested and is in detention. He has not been dismissed yet. The board of KEK should be dismissed too. The government and Prime Minister Albin Kurti himself have defended this director,” he argued.

Hovenier: We appreciate Iowa’s partnership with KSF (media)

United States Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, hosted today Brigadier General of the Iowa National Guard, Stephen Osborn. Hovenier tweeted after the meeting: “We appreciate Iowa’s enduring State Partnership with the Kosovo Security Force as we support the KSF 10 year plan to become a multi-ethnic, professional, NATO-interoperable territorial defense force.”

Osmani: Turkish community enriches mosaic of diversity in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani congratulated the Turkish community on the National Day of the Turks of Kosovo, on Sunday. “The Republic of Kosovo consists of communities with different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Each one of them brings a unique perspective and experiences that enrich our lives. The Turkish community is a powerful connecting bridge between Kosovo and Turkey. The active participation of the Turkish community in political, parliamentary, cultural, and social life enriches the mosaic of diversity in Kosovo,” Osmani said.

Serbian Language Media

Vucic: What happened yesterday is much more than Albin Kurti’s defeat (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today that not only an unequivocal defeat of Albin Kurti and his regime took place in Kosovo and Metohija on Sunday, but also, as he said, tectonic changes occurred there, Tanjug news agency reports.

“What happened yesterday is much more than that. Serbian people demonstrated that they demand a completely different approach, before everything, of the international community, and here I refer to Western powers – people demand greater respect and a genuine dialogue, and not imposed solutions”, Vucic said today in his public address.

He said he will not present “an analysis of some election results, but analysis of tectonic changes that happened in Kosovo and Metohija yesterday”. According to him, elections in northern Kosovo demonstrated several good and several difficult things for the Serbs in the future.

“Firstly, this is election debacle of Kurti and Quinta, those who encouraged Kurti, and secondly this is a historic result because nothing similar happened on European soil since WWII, and thirdly this showed such discipline and responsibility of the Serbs that had not been seen in the recent history of our people“, Vucic said.

We do not have essential dialogue

Vucic also said the most significant message sent yesterday was that there is no essential dialogue.

“We do not talk, we receive imposed papers that always go in the favour of Pristina, and when we tell them that something happens in Kosovo and Metohija they tell those are Vucic’s nonsense”.

Serbs showed yesterday that no one in the West listened to them

“Serbs have shown yesterday decisively with 99.97 percent, which does not exist in the world, that no one from the West listened to them, and that we in Belgrade sometimes didn’t understand them enough how difficult their position is”, he added.

“We had not enough time to listen to their problems and issues, they said in a referendum and plebiscite manner in which state they want to live, but they also showed to the world that they (the world) understood nothing”.

Results from yesterday represent a completely new political reality

Vucic noted that the results of the elections yesterday represent a completely new political reality.

“We have come to certain conclusions while working until early morning hours and that is that in this new reality we have to act differently. Kurti did not understand that and thought that he would rule Mitrovica North with 400 votes”.

No Serb wish to return to institutions

“Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija asked Brussels to protect them, they never listened to it there, and also yesterday they did not understand the message of the Serbian people and it is – we want that our voice is heard and you can’t do whatever you want…. Serbs want to expose this occupation, and not to give legitimacy to the concealed occupation. No Serb wants to return to the institutions ”, Vucic said.

Serbia always fulfils its obligations

Vucic further said that Serbia always fulfils its obligations, while Brussels deems it a success when Kurti talks about establishing a Community of Serb Municipalities.

“It does not even cross my mind to support entry of Pristina to the Council of Europe…a tectonic changes occurred just because they never wanted to listen to the Serbs, we have to take care of our political surroundings and European path in order to be able to survive economically and preserve our people in Kosovo and Metohija”, he said.

He also touched upon low participation of Albanians in the elections in northern Kosovo, adding does this mean they were mistreated by Serbia or it means something else. According to him, only 13 Serbs took part in the elections in four northern municipalities and two of them said they came out to vote by mistake.

He also said that on May 2 he will most probably go to Brussels, but that decision has not been made yet.

“It turned out that Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija had not felt that guaranteed security, everything they said about the Council of Europe they lied to us as always, I have not made a decision, but on May 2 I will most probably go to Brussels”, he said.

Serb-majority north Kosovo towns get Albanian mayors (N1)

The four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo will have Albanian mayors following Sunday’s vote according to preliminary results released overnight by the Kosovo Central Election Commission, N1 reports.

The Central Election Commission said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Self-determination won in Mitrovica North and Leposavic while the Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) won in Zvecan and Zubin Potok. A total of 1,567 of more than 45,000 registered voters or just 3.47 percent cast ballots in those four municipalities. Serbs and their political parties boycotted the elections.

A Commission press release said that DPK candidates for mayor Izmir Zeqiri and Ilir Peci won in Zubin Potok and Zvecan respectively while Self-determination candidates Lulzim Hetemi and Erdan Atiq won in Leposavic and Mitrovica North respectively.

Sladjana Pantovic was the only Serb candidate who stayed in the running for mayor of Zvecan, winning just 5 votes.

Elections in northern Kosovo: What Belgrade and Serbs say (N1)

Officials in Belgrade and Serb politicians in Kosovo spoke out against the local elections in four northern Serb-majority municipalities, calling them illegitimate and a fiasco.

Serbian List President Goran Rakic said the elections were both illegitimate and illegal. He said that the Serbs boycotted them over broken promises, arrests of Serbs, lies by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti as well as what he called daily repression against the Serbs. He added that the Kosovo Serbs and their political representatives did not take part in the elections in Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and Mitrovica North because the authorities in Pristina are not implementing agreements, including the forming of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM).

Serbian List Vice President Milan Radoicic expressed his personal gratitude to Serbs in the four northern municipalities for their “proven patriotism, dignity, honour and unity”. “I have to tell the people who think they can lead the northern municipalities with just one or two percent of the vote that the Serb people will never allow them to do that”, he said in a written statement, adding that he hopes that everyone understands the message sent by the Serbs.

In Belgrade, Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic claimed that the turnout among the Albanians in the four northern municipalities was lower than at previous elections. He said that the Kosovo officials who called for the elections face defeat following the election fiasco.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said in a Twitter post that the elections legalised the last ghetto in Europe. “Remember this day. This is the day when the last European ghetto gets legalised and legitimised. These are the images that truly depict the “rule of law” and the true meaning of “democratic elections” in Kosovo and Metohija as supported by the EU and the Quint,” she wrote adding … “Elections – free & fair, with armed forces and armoured vehicles! This is Europe, in the 21st century”.

Petkovic: Empty ballot boxes debacle of Kurti and international community (RTS)

Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director, Petar Petkovic told Serbian public broadcaster RTS this morning that results of the elections in northern Kosovo illustrate the best anti-democratic character of those local elections.

Petkovic also said that ballot boxes were empty and it illustrates the best that this was about “defeat and debacle of Albin Kurti and international community, but also a victory of Serbian unity”.

“A certain part of the international community supported them, respectively representatives from the West said they will recognize the results of those elections, and those very results speak best about the anti-democratic character of those local elections”, Petkovic said. He said Serbs boycotted those elections, adding that out of 1567 persons who cast the ballot in four northern municipalities, only 13 were Serbs. There were more than 45.000 registered voters in the north.

Asked what will happen after elections, Petkovic said Serbs will “remain where they were and where they will be tomorrow and in the years and centuries to come”.

Speaking of the decision of the Serbs in northern Kosovo to boycott elections Petkovic said that it demonstrates a new reality.

“(…) It demonstrates that Serbs emphasised and underlined that there is no further normalisation of the relations without establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities, in fact there is no further progress as long as Pristina does not fulfil its most important obligation”. According to him Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti wanted to force Serbian people to vote in containers and use this electoral process to expel them out of Kosovo.

“This is really unimaginable. Let us now see all those who supported elections and said they will recognize their results – how will they congratulate that”.

Petkovic also opined that Albin Kurit now does not know what to do, same as the international community.

“They now recognize results of fully illegitimate elections, and on the other side when Kurti banned Serbian referendum and Serbian elections in Kosovo and Metohija they were not utterly concerned and had not exerted due pressure on Pristina for those elections to be organised, and now we hear them saying that the elections are the basic democratic right and matter of freedom – how come you had not say that when they banned Serbian elections”.

He also said that 449 less Albanians cast their ballots compared to the elections in 2021, which according to him means that Albanians boycotted those elections as well.

Jablanovic expects elections to be annulled (DW, Kosovo Online)

Few are convinced Albanians can exercise the power after winning a total of few hundred votes in the elections in four northern Kosovo municipalities, DW reports, adding that Serbian politicians expect those elections to be annulled. It recalls that 3.4 percent of registered voters took part in the elections, and that due to massive boycott only 13 Serbs cast their votes. Albanian candidates were elected mayors of the northern municipalities.

DW further writes it appears there was no consensus on a joint statement of the Quint members on the elections unlike previous times and the US Embassy came out with its statement assessing that participation in elections was important for representation of the candidates that should serve the community.

Leader of Party of Kosovo Serbs (PKS) Aleksandar Jovanovic, the only Serb candidate for a mayor in Leposavic, who withdrew his candidacy three days prior to elections told DW that he expects those elections to be annulled.

“I think that institutions in Pristina and the international community would soon have to accept reality and it is that elections at which people would vote would have to be organised here”, Jablanovic said.

He also said his party decided to withdraw from the process without pressure from Belgrade, because of the manner by which elections were organised – inlcuding strong police presence and containers used as ballot stations.

The first question is where the new mayors will work? Apart from North Mitrovica municipality where Kosovo and Serbian local administrations are located in separate buildings, in other three northern municipalities Serbian and Kosovo administrations shared the same premises until the massive Serb resignation in November last year. Now only Serbian local administrations remain in those buildings.

“I believe that Albanian candidates who remained in electoral race are reasonable people and it is clear to them as well that you can’t take power in a municipality with 100 votes, in particular in the municipality where one percent of the Albanian population resides in comparison to 98 percent of the Serbian population”, Jablanovic said.

“The right to the municipal building is not an exclusive right of the Serbian List or the Party of Kosovo Serbia, but of those elected by people from this area, and at those elections people of Leposavic municipality did not cast their votes”, he said.

Kosovo Online portal recalled that only 13 persons from the Serb community in four northern municipalities participated in the elections, respectively 0.029 percent of registered Serb voters there.

Arsenijevic: If the new mayor works against the interests of the Serbs, we can hold a referendum (KoSSev, N1)

Aleksandar Arsenijevic from the Serbian Survival initiative stated that in Kosovska Mitrovica, only a quarter of the number of Albanians registered in the voter register went to the polls and that "they also realised that the electoral process is not democratic", reported KoSSev.

Arsenijevic told N1 that if the new mayor Erden Atiq works against the interests of the majority, by law they have the possibility to organise a referendum with 20 percent of the collected signatures in which they can overthrow him, cited portal KoSSev.

Arsenijevic's initiative did not participate in these elections.

"As we announced, we are always with our citizens and we respect the will of our citizens who did not want to participate in these elections, which is why we did not participate," he told N1.

The most important thing, he said, was that the election day passed peacefully.

He told N1 that the citizens of Serbian nationality were afraid that the polling stations would be turned into improvised stations of the special police. When asked where this fear came from, he said that they had previously received statements from the Government of Kosovo that the checkpoints on the Bistrica Bridge and Jarinje and Brnjak were temporary, but that they remained until today.

Serbian Survival, he said, remained in the opposition. "And this is how we will treat the illegitimate mayor of Mitrovica, Erden Atiq, who is already celebrating... He was alienated from the majority of the population... If his actions are directed against the majority of the population and the will of the citizens in further political actions, we will invoke the law on local self-government of Kosovo, according to which with the collected votes of 20 percent of the population, a referendum can be called in which we can overthrow the mayor. In addition, Article 71 of the same law gives us the right to overturn any decision of the assembly with the signatures of 10 percent of citizens. This is not the end for the Serbian people, as everyone thinks," he concluded.

Bisevac: If elections are not annulled and Albanians really take over, many people will move away (Danas)

Civic Initiative For Zubin Potok leader Milija Bisevac, which boycotted the last snap elections in the north, told Danas daily following elections on Sunday it was expected that situation will not change when it comes to the security, both sides to refrain from escalation and that the international community will learn a lesson and force Pristina to start forming Community of Serb Municipality. He said it was also expected that Belgrade would take necessary steps on the international level in order to provide support to the Serbian people in Kosmet.

He explained his civic initiative boycotted elections due to lack of conditions and circumstances for the elections to be held in democratic manner, as well as the unilateral decisions of Pristina which created instability in the north.

“As expected, the turnout in the elections was low and the Serbs boycotted the elections. Although the representatives of the international community announced in their statements that they will recognize the elections, we believe that these results are unacceptable and it is absolutely unrealistic that the mayors in the north, where the majority of the Serbian population is, are Albanians”, Bisevac said.

As he added, the initiative will continue to support Serbian people in Kosovo with its activities.

“But if these elections are not annulled and the Albanians really take over the power, many people will move away and it will be very difficult for our people to stay in the area”, he said.

Civil sector: The elections in the north improvised, the Serbs boycotted them (KiM radio)

The coalition of non-governmental organisations "Democracy in Action" observed the election process in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo through mobile teams, and its observers visited almost all polling stations. The refusal of political entities from the Serbian community to participate in the elections, as well as the withdrawal of candidacies after the certification of the CEC, resulted in a boycott of the elections, and the Serbian List's constant calls for the non-participation of Serbian voters in the elections had its role, read the statement sent to the media, reported KiM radio.

"In terms of election administration, improvisation of the election process was observed, starting with the election process in containers, which replaced about 70% of the usual polling centres. Improvised polling centres were located along main roads, far from residential areas, so they were difficult for potential voters to reach. Also, the majority of polling stations were merged into alternative polling centres, where the number of registered voters per centre reached around 6,000", stated the announcement.

The security of the election process was guaranteed by the Kosovo Police, which was present near all polling stations. As a result, the electoral process was completed without any incidents or compromising its integrity.

In addition to Democracy in Action, the election process in each polling centre was monitored by observers from two local non-governmental organisations operating in the north of Kosovo.

"While in the areas inhabited by the Serbian community there was an almost complete boycott of the elections, in the areas where the Albanian community lives, a greater trend of voting is evident. In this way, even though the elections meet the minimum legal criteria, they do not guarantee the political and representative legitimacy of the institutions that will emerge from them," the announcement concluded.

Memorial service for RTS workers killed in the NATO bombing (RTS, BETA, N1)

A memorial service for the employees of the Radio Television of Serbia, who died in the NATO bombing of the RTS building in Aberdareva Street in Belgrade on April 23, 1999, was held on Sunday morning at 2:06 a.m. next to the "Zasto" monument in Tasmajdanski Park.

Family members, management and colleagues from RTS and representatives of journalist associations honoured the victims, the website of the public service said.

16 RTS staff members died in the attack, including technical and supporting staff. RTS recalled that for the first time in the history of a war a media outlet, previously declared as a legitimate military target, was attacked. More than 100 people worked in the late shift on a date when the RTS was attacked.

Hill: Dialogue needs "new momentum", it is time for ZSO (N1, Beta)

US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina needs "new momentum" and that he expects progress in the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSM) after the meeting of the two parties in Brussels on May 2, reported N1.

"It is very important to continue the dialogue, the dialogue needs a new momentum, I am satisfied that they have a plan for May 2. It is clear that the time for the CSM is now and that in that sense it will happen quickly," he told reporters at the conference of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia "Regional Economic Cooperation - Open Balkans: What the economy can expect?".

He refused to comment on yesterday's local elections in the north of Kosovo.

"I focus on the relations between the USA and Serbia and their further progress. The second priority I have is what we are doing through the Open Balkans. We must find ways to develop patterns of cooperation in the region, that regional integration is a process that everyone will join. Open Balkan is exciting because it was created by the region itself, but it is obvious that it has to be harmonized with other processes," said Hill.

He reminded that the first six points in the Brussels Agreement refer to the CSM, he said that it is an issue that has been going on for 10 years and that it must be resolved as soon as possible.

Opinion

A debacle of half a million euros (KiM radio)

KiM radio reported last night that according to the CEC data, the budget for the extraordinary elections for the mayors of the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and Zvecan and early elections for the assemblies of the municipalities of Zvecan and Leposavic amounted to 497,398 euros.

KiM radio reported that out of 45,095, or 20,314 voters, a total of 1,567 of them, or 3.47 percent of those with the right to vote, participated in the elections. ''Of that, a small number are Serbs, so the logical question is, what was almost half a million euros spent on?'', wrote the radio on its portal.

From a strictly legal point of view, the legality of these elections was not in question, nor was their legitimacy, since the law in Kosovo did not determine the minimum turnout that makes some elections valid.

''Nevertheless, it is clear that the just completed process has neither a democratic character nor political legitimacy for many reasons - the Serbs in three of the four municipalities did not have candidates for mayor, and in the fourth it was a lady, to mildly put, of very dubious political morals and credibility, the most famous for her controversial ad hoc "friendship" with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti'', KiM radio wrote after the elections last night.

''Since the international community was embodied in the most powerful states of the West, despite shy signals that it is aware of the "phallicness" of these elections, it is willing to acknowledge their tragic results, there remains a faint hope that the costs of organising today's container episode, without the main actors and with some extras, will be borne by theirs and not the taxpayers from Kosovo'', it was concluded in the KiM radio article.

International

North Kosovo elections trigger harsh words, criticisms from Belgrade (Euractive)

Elections that took place in the north of Kosovo in four municipalities with a Serb majority registered the lowest turnout ever in the country’s history at just 3.47%, sparking harsh words from Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and scathing criticism of the EU and US from Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

A total of 19 polling stations were opened in North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposavic, with 45,000 Kosovo citizens eligible to vote. But just 1567 people cast a ballot, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

Preliminary results show the ruling Vetevendosje Movement won the municipalities of North Mitrovica and Leposaviq, while the Democratic Party of Kosovo won Zvecan and Zubin Potok.