How will Serbs living outside Kosovo vote in the February elections?

By car or bus to the polling station in Kosovo on February 9, or a bit earlier to the post office, where they can send their ballots and hope they safely reach the Central Election Commission. These are the two options available to Serbs with Kosovo documents who have the right to vote in Kosovo but live in Serbia, if they wish to participate in the Kosovo parliamentary elections. Neither option guarantees that their voting rights will ultimately be fulfilled.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

There have been enough examples of Serbs being mistakenly arrested at border crossings to discourage some from traveling to Kosovo for the parliamentary elections. Voting by mail in previous years has also proven unreliable.

Since the postal services of Serbia and Kosovo do not cooperate, mail-in ballots from Serbia must be routed through North Macedonia or Montenegro to reach the CEC in Pristina. If these votes arrive after the deadline, they are rejected.

While there were cases in 2019 where votes arrived on time, they were labeled as "poisoned" after 12 election verifiers in Kosovo experienced symptoms that required hospitalization. Later, it was stated that this was an allergic reaction to the envelopes from Serbia. The CEC members processed around 3,700 votes in hazmat suits, but later declared the ballots as unlawfully delivered, removing them from the final results.

Some analysts in Pristina suggest a third option for Serbs voting from outside Kosovo—using the office of the liaison officer between Pristina and Belgrade. However, this option is questionable. In November of last year, Ivica Dacic, then Serbia’s Foreign Minister, stated that liaison officers, as per the dialogue agreement, are physically located in the EU delegation offices in Belgrade and Pristina, but they do not have diplomatic status.

As part of the election preparations, the CEC spokesperson, Valmir Elezi, announced that voters living outside Kosovo could vote physically in diplomatic missions or by mailing their ballots to the CEC offices in Kosovo or to CEC's foreign postal offices.

Milica Andric Rakic, program manager of the NGO Social Initiative, told Kosovo Online that postal voting for Serbs from Kosovo living in Serbia hasn’t functioned properly since 2019. As a result, most people have opted to travel by bus to vote in person in Kosovo.

In 2019, there was a scandal involving the alleged poisoning of votes that arrived by mail, and in 2021, votes were delayed and arrived after the deadline because regional postal services were used as intermediaries. This example clearly shows how poorly communication between the postal services of Serbia and Kosovo functions, which has not been resolved through agreements. Now, since political representatives in Pristina have used the postal system for political purposes, Serbian political representatives should insist that this time, all votes from Serbia arrive by that same method. This will undoubtedly involve thousands of votes. Many people from Kosovo living in Serbia, due to various fears, are unwilling to return to Kosovo, but they should certainly have the right to vote," says Andric Rakic.

Political analyst from Pristina, Afrim Hoti, told Kosovo Online that the situation regarding voting for Serbs from Kosovo who live in Serbia is no different from other countries. They can vote either by traveling to Kosovo or by mail, and the liaison office of Pristina in Belgrade could also serve as a voting location.

“The first option is for people to come here and vote directly in their municipalities and towns, and if that's not possible, then mail is the second option. Kosovo does not have an embassy in Serbia, but there is a Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia, which, according to the Vienna Convention, is considered a diplomatic mission. This means that it could be used by Kosovo citizens who are Serbs to vote in Belgrade,” Hoti explains.

When asked whether the liaison office will be equipped to facilitate the electoral process on February 9 and whether voting materials will be delivered there, Hoti explains that this decision rests with the Central Election Commission (CEC).

“If this is organized at other Kosovo diplomatic missions, the same should apply to Belgrade. They can organize it there as well,” Hoti believes.

However, political scientist Ognjen Gogic disagrees, stating that the liaison office is not a diplomatic mission.

“For Serbs living or spending most of their time in central Serbia, but who hold Kosovo documents, there is no provision by the Kosovo CEC for them to vote in a diplomatic mission, as Kosovo has no embassy in Serbia. The liaison office does not serve this purpose. Their options are to vote by mail or to exercise their right in person on Kosovo soil,” Gogic told Kosovo Online.

The problem with voting by mail, he notes, has been addressed in the past by routing the mail through intermediary postal services in North Macedonia or Montenegro.

“This is not a new mechanism; it was used in the 2019 and 2021 parliamentary elections in Kosovo, where a number of votes were processed this way. There were challenges—some envelopes arrived late or were rejected for procedural reasons—but the option to vote via intermediary postal services still exists. Those who have used this method before are familiar with the procedure, and it is possible to follow the CEC's instructions. However, it is not the most ideal method. The best solution is for eligible voters to cast their votes directly in Kosovo, as there is ample time to organize this. Previous election cycles were mostly held in a rushed, short timeframe, but now individuals or groups can arrange to travel to Kosovo, which would be the best option,” Gogic asserts.

He also points out that the number of Serb voters participating in the elections does not affect the guaranteed 10 seats allocated to the Serbian community in the Kosovo parliament, regardless of voter turnout.

“Even if turnout is lower, these seats are guaranteed, and there is no risk that procedural issues will jeopardize their number. Nevertheless, it is important for as many people as possible to vote so that the elected representatives have broader legitimacy,” Gogic concludes.