Elek: Serb List once again robbed through Albin Kurti’s political engineering

The President of the Serb List, Zlatan Elek, stated today that the party is very satisfied with its election result, as support from Serbian voters continues to grow, but that it has again been robbed through Albin Kurti’s political engineering, because Nenad Rasic’s party receives votes in Albanian-majority areas. He therefore asked whether Serbian interests in the Kosovo parliament should be represented by someone who is voted for by Albanians.

“The Serb List achieved an incredible result in the elections, we are very satisfied with the result, given the political engineering, the arrests of our people, the leaders of healthcare and educational institutions, and we saw what happened in Gorazdevac and Kosovo Polje,” Elek said at a press conference.

He presented data from the last three parliamentary election cycles, stating that in February last year the Serb List won 39,917 votes, while Nenad Rasic’s party won 4,135 votes, of which 1,097 were in Albanian-majority areas and 3,042 in Serbian areas.

“In the December elections, the Serb List won 42,759 votes, while the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival won 4,834 votes, of which 3,080 were in Serbian areas, but with growing support among Albanian voters, 1,751 votes in purely Albanian areas. These elections show a rise in his popularity in Albanian areas. That is why we are asking why they are voting for Rasic,” Elek said.

He pointed out that the Serb List, without counted conditional votes, won 42,761 votes, while Nenad Rasic’s party won 5,232 votes.

“With a catastrophic result in Serbian areas, where he won fewer than 3,000 votes. In Serbian areas he won 2,975 votes, but his friends, Albin Kurti and others, made sure he received 2,257 votes in Albanian areas. That leads to a simple question: is it possible that in the Kosovo parliament Serbs should be represented by someone who is voted for by Albanians. That is simply impossible,” Elek said.

He noted that in every election the number of votes for the Serb List in Serbian areas increases, while Nenad Rasic records an increase in Albanian votes.

“Every time the Serb List increased its votes in Serbian areas, support for Rasic fell. But his support grew in Albanian areas, where there are no Serbs,” Elek noted.

He specified that in Prizren, where a small number of Serbs live in the city center, Nenad Rasic’s party won 440 votes, while in Decani, where there are no Serbs, the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival won 30 votes.

“In Djakovica, where there was the case of only one Serb woman who no longer even lives there, he got 81 votes. In Glogovac, where there have been no Serbs since 1999, Rasic won 14 votes. In Podujevo, where there are also no Serbs, he received 65 votes. In Suva Reka 31 vote, in Malisevo 14, in Mamusa 28, in the municipality of Djeneral Jankovic 17 votes. In Pec he surprisingly won 148 votes, and in South Mitrovica, where only one Serbian priest’s family lives, he received 78 votes,” Elek listed.

Therefore, he said, the Serb List rightly tells international officials, as well as domestic and global public, that it has again been robbed through Albin Kurti’s political engineering, as in previous election cycles.

“Rasic is his favorite, to whom votes are added, while we are harmed through the electoral commission, where we do not have enough representatives, and in all segments,” the Serb List President said.

Noting that a person is worth as much as they are liked in their closest environment, Elek said that Rasic in Dobrotin, where he comes from and where his family lives, received fewer votes than the Serb List.

“In Dobrotin, in December, the Serb List won 414 votes, and Rasic 178. Now in that area the Serb List got 532 votes, and Rasic 145,” Elek said.

He thanked all Serbs who supported the Serb List.

“I want to thank the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija for their trust in the Serb List, as the strongest and best organized party, which is not ashamed of its state Serbia and which clearly says that our capital is Belgrade and our president is Aleksandar Vucic,” Elek stressed.

When asked whether the Serb List won nine or ten mandates, he replied that it is still unknown because the vote counting has not been completed.

“We will see when the CEC announces it, but we want to prove through these arguments that we were robbed. The Serbian vote is not being respected here. The Serb List is dominant in all Serbian areas, but we cannot influence Albanian voters. In Mikronaselje in North Mitrovica, an Albanian neighborhood, Rasic has his voters. Through these numbers we show that the number of his votes is decreasing, while the number of votes for the Serb List increases with each electoral process,” Elek said.

Asked whether he expects a reaction from the international community, he noted that elections are always fair and proper when Rasic needs to enter the assembly.

“We are not giving up on dialogue with international actors, we warned about political engineering. But the international community has reacted weakly even to more serious issues. It is here with the task of protecting multiethnicity and the democratic nature of the process, not to support the Serb List. We are not asking anyone to help us, but to respect the votes of the Serbian community, and their number is very clear,” Elek underlined.

When asked whether a coalition with Albanian opposition parties is possible, he replied that it is too early to talk about it.

“When we have new information, we will announce it, including whether a coalition agreement has been reached or not. For now, there is no indication of that,” Elek said.