Pavkovic: It will be difficult for the LDK and Osmani to take diaspora votes away from Self-Determination

The director of strategy at the Belgrade-based Center for European Policy, Milos Pavkovic, assessed for Kosovo Online that it will be a difficult task for the Democratic League of Kosovo together with Vjosa Osmani to take over diaspora votes in the June 7 elections, which, he adds, have traditionally gone to Self-Determination and its leader Albin Kurti in previous electoral processes.

“We have two important elements here. The first is the return of Vjosa Osmani under the umbrella of the LDK, which strengthens the synergistic effect, and the second is the question of the diaspora, namely whether the LDK, now united in this way, can take over the diaspora that has traditionally voted for Self-Determination,” Pavkovic stated.

As he added, this will be a very difficult task for two reasons.

“The first reason is that Vjosa Osmani has established diplomatic ties and contacts abroad, primarily in the United States, while the electorate that turns out to vote mainly consists of voters dispersed across Europe - Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and other European countries,” Pavkovic said.

As the second reason, our interlocutor highlights the fact that the role of the diaspora in these elections will not be decisive because of the period in which they are being held.

“Perhaps in these elections the diaspora will not play the decisive role it did in the December elections. The elections are now being held at the beginning of June, while voters traditionally return from the diaspora for summer holidays somewhat later, at the end of June or the beginning of July. In that sense, the diaspora electorate will be smaller than in the December elections, but even this reduced electorate will be very firm and difficult for Vjosa Osmani to approach, and it is quite uncertain whether she will have enough influence to win over that segment of voters,” Pavkovic concluded.