Baraliu: Participation in institutions is important — parties must start working for the citizens

University professor Mazlum Baraliu stated that it is of crucial importance for the Serbian community in Kosovo to be integrated into society and its institutions, emphasizing that all political parties, including the Serb List, must listen to the citizens rather than act in the interest of a narrow elite.

“One must think carefully — it is always better to be included in any society. That is the reality; one should work for their family and their community. They need to learn that lesson, just as I have said about other political parties: to get involved and work for the benefit of the citizens. Until now, in a way, the Serb List has done that, but instead of listening to and understanding the citizens — not only their members, who are not many — decisions have been made by a small elite. Now, however, they must realize that they have won the majority in those municipalities and must work for the community, not for personal needs, interests, or benefits,” Baraliu told Kosovo Online.

He pointed out that this election cycle also saw the emergence of new political parties and civic initiatives.

“It doesn’t matter how many votes they received; what matters is that they had the courage and determination to participate in the political arena. Some succeeded, others did not, but that already changes the picture. Things will no longer be as before, when only the Serb List had the first and last word. It is also important that everyone acts in accordance with the law and respects what is legally and constitutionally defined. If something is wrong, a complaint should be filed — that is part of the rule of law. Everyone should be given the opportunity, and that opportunity exists for everyone in this country, regardless of national or religious affiliation, because this is a civic country. It is not a country of the Albanian majority or of minorities — it is a country of all its citizens. Therefore, as they say, they need to ‘turn a new page’ and start working in the people’s interest, because so far that has not always been the case,” he said.

Baraliu added that citizens’ trust must be justified through work, not personal or group gains.

“We all live in the same environment. They must be involved and integrated into the institutions, not show up occasionally — once every six months — only to collect benefits. They received the citizens’ trust, that is not in question, but trust is given to serve the citizens. That applies to everyone, not only to the Serb List, though primarily to them. They now have to learn a lesson and ‘turn a new page,’ because if they continue working in the same way, which is not in the spirit of Kosovo’s Constitution and laws, they will lose the trust of the citizens and face problems. The truth must be said: the percentage they received is not a reflection of the confidence of the Serbian community, but the result of good organization from Belgrade. People did come out to vote, but it is good that, this time, things were not as before — as confirmed by observers and everyone familiar with the situation on the ground. Therefore, both the Serb List and all other parties must focus more on their community and voters, and less on their personal, group, or informal interests,” Baraliu concluded.