Kurti’s turn: Will the Serbs soon have the conditions to participate in new local elections in the north?

The proposal of the representatives of the Quint countries, which the US and EU envoys Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak presented to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, along with the de-escalation of the situation, contains as the most important point the holding of new local elections in the north of Kosovo. The interlocutors of Kosovo Online believe that only in the elections in which the Serbs will take part can the tension in the north be removed, but also that some necessary conditions must be met.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the need to hold new elections in the north of Kosovo after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani during the meeting in Chisinau.

The same request was conveyed by the US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans and the EU Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak during a visit to Pristina.

However, the position of the Serbs from the north and their political representatives has been clear since November last year - in order to participate in the elections, it is necessary to fulfill the requirements related to the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police from the north.

In response to all this, due to the newly created situation, the Serb List made it clear that for de-escalation it is necessary that the arrested Rados Petrovic and Dusan Obrenovic be released, and that the Kosovo Special Forces, together with the mayors, leave the municipal buildings in Leposavic, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and North Mitrovica.

State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense Nemanja Starovic tells Kosovo Online that the elections are the way to de-escalation, but that it is not enough. He believes that we should work on solving the basic problem.

"Elections as such are the path to de-escalation, but they are not a sufficient condition, because I think that our compatriots from the north of Kosovo and Metohija were completely clear when they decided to withdraw from the institutions back in November. It is necessary to urgently and quickly form the CSM and the withdrawal of the special militarized monoethnic Albanian forces of the Kosovo Police," Starovic said.

According to him, in addition to new elections, there needs to be a guarantee that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will not invade the north again with the help of special units and arrest the Serbs.

"All that we have witnessed in the last ten days has further complicated the situation, and it is necessary to add to all of that the demands for the release of detained Serbs, as well as adequate guarantees, will not happen, that, in fact, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina, Albin Kurti, announces by reading different lists, which are attempts of new arrests, detentions, and mistreatment of our compatriots," Starovic said.

We need to work on a diplomatic solution that would lead to positive results, Starovic believes and adds that this requires the will of the conflicting parties, which, he says, he does not see with Kurti.

"Elections as such do not solve anything unless it is about a broader package of moves, which must be implemented beforehand. In any case, we are witnessing different plans for de-escalation coming from Mr. Borrell, Bujar Osmani, and other international addresses. The root of the problem is that there is no diplomatic solution that can produce substantial positive results unless there is a pronounced will for de-escalation among all the conflicting parties. Unfortunately, Mr. Kurti does not have that will, because he clearly wants further escalation at all costs. Even if in the most positive scenario and the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police and fake mayors from municipal buildings, what kind of de-escalation and normalization can we talk about, if his next move already in the coming weeks are attempts of new incursions by Kosovo Special Forces and the arrest of the Serbs," Starovic asked and added that one had to act in the direction of solving what was the root of the problem, and not deal only with specific procedures.

He stated that the rhetoric of the authorities in Pristina did not show that they were ready for an agreement and calming of tensions, but on the contrary, led to a new crisis.

"As much as I would like to be optimistic, I cannot be at this moment, because the only thing we can hear from the official level of the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina, above all from Albin Kurti and his associates, are announcements of some kind of new escalation in the new crisis hotspots. Whether it is the reading of the lists of the Serbs who are accused of allegedly causing riots, we saw that in this particular case, it is about a woman who is disabled and a man who was in the hospital that day. All of this is an announcement of some kind of new or prolonged escalation, and does not lead us in the direction of the much-desired and necessary de-escalation," Starovic pointed out.

As he said, the elections in the north would make sense only if the Serbs participated in them and added that he hoped that the Kosovo side had now realized that.

"I don't want to believe in the scenario that we could once again witness a new election process that would be unilaterally implemented and imposed on the Serbs. I hope that they have learned their lesson, that they have finally understood what, unfortunately, was not clear to them in the previous months, namely that it is fundamentally impossible to impose the electoral process on the Serbs and that new local elections can only make sense if legitimate political representatives of the Serbian community participate in the entire process. In order for them to participate in the elections some set conditions must be met, which are in no way unrealistic, but logical and common sense," Starovic said.

Eugen Cakolli from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo pointed out for Kosovo Online that since the holding of local elections in the north of Kosovo, it had been clear that the new mayors would not have legitimacy.

"Since the announcement of the non-participation of the Serb List and other Serbian parties in the elections on April 23, as well as the boycott of the elections by the citizens, it was crystal clear that the legitimacy of the new mayors will be contested, which is the reason for the non-execution of the regular mandate. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Kurti, who stated that the new mayors would not have a full mandate," Cakolli said.

As he said, holding new elections was inevitable, because it was the only way to calm tensions. However, he believes that they were announced without a prior binding agreement with Kosovo and Serbia, which, he says, does not guarantee the participation of the Serbs and their political representatives.

"So, extraordinary elections are actually inevitable, but now it's a matter of time and legal modality. They are normally the first step towards de-escalation, but announcing them without prior agreement within a larger agreement, which also guarantees the participation of the Serbs in the elections, would be worthless." Cakolli added.

According to him, if new elections in the north are called, the "pressure" of the international community will be on the Serb list, which, he says, will make any boycott impossible.

"In the current circumstances and context that creates pressure from the international community on the parties, it is important that in the event of new elections being called, the international pressure will fall on the Serbian side to participate in the elections, making it almost impossible for any boycott of the Serb List," Cakolli said.

He believes that such a result would have been difficult to achieve in other circumstances, without the prior formation of the CSM, which was the condition of the Serb List for participating in the elections.