Where is the issue of the replacement of mayors in northern Kosovo stuck; who benefits from the delay?

The Central Election Commission of Kosovo confirmed almost a month ago that it had received petitions from citizens from all four municipalities in northern Kosovo for the dismissal of mayors, and although it was immediately stated that "time is needed for signature verification", it seems that four weeks were sufficient for that task. As there is still no information from the CEC on whether the petitions are valid, suspicions have been raised that the entire process of replacing Albanian mayors is being delayed.

Kosovo Online interlocutors assess that the authorities in Pristina are actually buying time to hold elections for new mayors only next year, which is the regular term for local elections. Until then, some opinions suggest, that the current government, through Albanian mayors, would exert additional pressure on the Serbs.

The mayors of North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok were elected in the elections on April 23 last year, with only 3.47 percent of voters turning out, or 1,567 citizens, including 13 Serbs.

According to the administrative instructions of the Kosovo Ministry of Local Government, a petition to dismiss these mayors must be supported by at least 20 percent of voters in those municipalities for the CEC to organize a vote (referendum) to dismiss the mayors.

The Executive Director of the NGO Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture from North Mitrovica, Dusan Radakovic, says for Kosovo Online that the process of dismissing mayors in northern Kosovo is being politicized and that time is being bought until next year when regular local elections are due.

"The signatures were submitted nearly four weeks ago. We have less than 10,000 votes that realistically need to be verified within three hours, let's say even within 24 hours. Because in elections where there are 800,000 or 900,000 votes, those results are reviewed within three to four hours after the election day," Radakovic says.

He adds that now there are debates about whether the next step requires a Referendum Law, with the President of Kosovo saying it is not necessary, which creates the impression that the whole issue is being politicized to buy time until next year, when regular local elections are due.

He also states that it is shameful for the Central Election Commission and the Ministry of Local Government that citizens have to give 10 or 20 times more votes to remove someone who received 100, 200, or 500 votes in the elections, as the mayor of North Mitrovica did, and yet it takes months for all of this.

"It is high time for the decision to be accepted, for us to go to a referendum or elections, and for the mayor and the assembly to represent the real picture of the citizens living in the north, both in number and percentage," Radakovic notes.

Criticism from the international community regarding how the process of mayor's removal is taking place, he says, is mild and without concrete sanctions.

"We will reach June next year and regular elections, and in that case, I hope for the participation of all Serbian parties and associations," Radakovic says.

According to Srdjan Graovac from the Center for Social Stability, the delay in replacing the four mayors suits Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. He says that Kurti will prolong the process as much as possible, as well as the organization of new elections. In his assessment, Kurti does not want this issue to be resolved as soon as possible because he exerts additional pressure on the Serbs through "Albanian illegal and illegitimate mayors".

"The pressure isn't just about police with long guns who are constantly present in northern Kosovo and the arrests of Serbs, which are Kurti's strongest tactics against them, not only in the north. What he heavily relies on is the institutional pressure on the Serbs through those mayors. The Serbs under these circumstances cannot influence internal dynamics or the functioning of their community. Thus, in Kurti's strategy of constant pressure on the Serbs, he won't relent and won't want these mayors removed and new elections organized. He will likely prolong the process until next year, when regular local elections are due, which is the maximum delay possible," Graovac states to Kosovo Online. Top of Form

He says he wouldn't be surprised if the Constitutional Court were called upon to deliberate on the petition to remove the mayors.

"Don't expect Kurti to relent because he understands that all this pressure and terror he enforces on the Serbs strengthens his position in the internal political scene. Albanians support him because Albanian society is radicalized, and Kurti has radicalized it further. Don't forget that Kurti persistently blamed Serbs for all the misfortunes in Kosovo. Poor economic life – blamed on Serbs who ruined everything, poor security in Kosovo – also blamed on Serbs who terrorized the Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. Whatever happens in Kosovo – it's the Serbs' fault. Automatically, you have a radical public sentiment toward Serbs. He politically exists through this terror against the Serbs," Graovac says.

As he adds, Kurti won't yield regarding the deployment of armed forces in northern Kosovo because he sees it resonates with the radicalized Albanian public.

"In the end, all of this fits into the concept of the idea that Serbs shouldn't live in Kosovo, that they are a disruptive factor concerning the idea of 'Greater Albania', and that there should be a reckoning with the Serbs," Graovac notes.

According to him, Albanian mayors in the north are nothing but Kurti's political pawns, executing solely his goals, tasks, and ideas.

"They strive to remove any mention of the Serbian state and anything Serbian in northern Kosovo; that's the essence. Additionally, there's an attempt to break up the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija, to divide and sow discord, and to maintain the institutional vacuum where Serbs don't participate. It is an attempt to break up the Serbian community and for Albanians to try to impose new Serbian leaders loyal to Kurti rather than the Serbian community," Graovac concludes.

Nemanja Nestorovic, Deputy Director of the organization Community Building Mitrovica, also feels that there is intentional procrastination in the process of replacing the mayors. As he says, the authorities in Pristina are actually buying time to issue instructions for organizing the referendum, and they will find the solution best for them.

"In such a status quo, the authorities in Pristina are trying to find a solution best for them. As things stand, elections will take place, but when, it's uncertain to say, due to the high tensions that exist both at the central and local levels. I think this process will be postponed until the end of this year so that the current authorities in Pristina can secure their position in the upcoming elections," Nestorovic told our portal.

According to the Administrative Instruction, if it is determined that the petition was not supported by at least 20 percent of the registered voters, the civic initiative would be given the opportunity to supplement the request with additional signatures within a period of ten days. Once it is established that the request is supported by at least 20 percent of the voters, a vote on the dismissal of the mayor from office is organized.