Nikolic: The Serb List has met all conditions for the elections, CEC has politicized the process

The President of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Danijela Nikolic, stated that the Central Election Commission in Pristina has politicized the process and that there are neither legal nor any other obstacles preventing any candidate of the Serb List from being eligible, nor grounds to ban the list from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

For the third time this year, the Serb List must go through the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel before entering the electoral race. As in previous parliamentary and local elections, the Central Election Commission in Pristina refused to certify the candidates of the Serb List for the elections in Kosovo scheduled for 28 December. The decision opened a new political flashpoint, initiated appeal procedures, and triggered reactions from international actors, accompanied by warnings that the credibility and inclusiveness of the electoral process are being tested.

Speaking to RTS, Nikolic said that the entire process over the past year, across three election cycles in Kosovo, has led to fatigue and harassment of public opinion.

“All of this is happening because someone allowed Albin Kurti to do such a thing. Where he reaps the fruits of his terror and inaction is actually on the back of the Serb List, just to force the Serb List to possibly give up one day or to weaken it in any way. Of course, the Serb List is stronger and emerges stronger every time, but this is definitely a major problem,” Nikolic emphasized.

What is and is not the job of the CEC

The election campaign begins on 18 December. Nikolic points out that the Central Election Commission has granted itself authorities that do not belong to it. She says that what they are doing is pure arbitrariness, acting outside the law and outside their constitution.

Article 27 of the Law on General Elections stipulates that the Office recommends to the CEC either for or against certification. The Office takes this action after reviewing candidate lists, and according to the law, the CEC’s authority is merely formal, to vote and approve the decision of the CEC’s expert body.

Moreover, under Article 30, the legal eligibility of candidates is assessed solely on the basis of evaluations by relevant institutions, the filters that candidates of the respective subject must meet.

Nikolic notes that one article even mentions a security assessment, which she stresses is not the job of an election commission.

“It is not up to them to determine whether Mr. Igor Simic is eligible, whether Mr. Slavko Simic is eligible, or whether any of the 33 candidates for MPs on that list are eligible,” the President of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija emphasized.

She points out that the job of the CEC is to check whether all candidates have submitted the required documentation, as well as whether a political party has provided what is necessary for the list to be certified for the elections. It is not their job to assess the substance of whether a candidate is eligible or not.

She stresses that the process has been politicized and that all conditions have been met, that there are absolutely no obstacles, including legal ones, preventing any candidate of the Serb List from being eligible, nor any grounds for the Serb List, as the only and largest political party of the Serbs, to be banned from participating in the elections.

Protection of Serbian national interests

“The problem here lies in just one thing, that the Serb List is the strongest political party among the Serbs and that it represents a pattern of behavior in protecting Serbian national interests,” Nikolic specified.

She particularly emphasizes that the biggest problem is that Serbs live with the weight of every such word.

“So it is not easy when you say Kosovo and Metohija in their parliament, or anything else, because we are aware of the facts of how much everything is prohibited and how much the Serbian word is banned in Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbian name and surname, Serbian culture, tradition, and ultimately our very existence,” the committee president pointed out.

Who can Serbs rely on

According to her, reactions from diplomatic missions, including the German embassy, are not loud enough and are expressed pro forma.

“It is impossible for Albin Kurti to be tolerated for a year, to tolerate this institutional vacuum that exists, but that is a comfort zone and an established pattern of his behavior. This is the first time that they have independently formed a government, without international representatives having a direct influence,” Nikolic emphasized.

She notes that Nenad Rasic, who does not have the votes of the Serbian community in parliament, was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, which means that someone has again allowed this to happen.

She reiterates that all of these reactions from the international community are pro forma and far too mild to force Albin Kurti to stop.

Why 28 December was chosen

She particularly points out that Kurti very cunningly chose 28 December for the elections because he is counting on the diaspora that returns to Kosovo during the period of Catholic Christmas and the New Year holidays.

“This is the period from 20 December to 2 or 3 January, when there is a large concentration of their emigrants. He is counting precisely on those votes for 28 December,” Nikolic assessed.

She personally believes that Kurti will not win, that he has shown a certain degree of strength to other political parties, but not enough to form a government, and that no one will enter into a coalition with him because of his behavior, including toward Albanians.

She says that for 13 years they have insisted on the creation of the Community of Serb Municipalities and that, as she stated, “every future government will break its teeth on the  Community of Serb Municipalities.”
She emphasizes that Kosovo is a daily topic for the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

“What encourages me is that we support our state and our President Aleksandar Vucic, who unreservedly supports the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. It is up to our people to maintain our unity and solidarity and to stand together on 28 December behind the banner raised by the Serb List and number 127,” Nikolic concluded.