Andric Rakic: As it stands now, there won't be mayors' resignations

Milica Andric Rakic, Program Manager of the NGO Social Initiative, tells Kosovo Online that the collected signatures for petitions in four municipalities in northern Kosovo are a sufficient expression of citizens' will to reject the current mayors, but that they probably will not resign. In the upcoming period, she says, attempts to challenge the petitions or insistence on a referendum can be expected.

"Unfortunately, my assessment is that it probably won't lead to the mayors' resignations, at least that's how it looks for now. They have significantly hardened their statements, especially regarding the issue of the local referendum, including mayors from the PDK, whom it was believed would be more cooperative on that matter. Unfortunately, I think they will most likely either seek ways to challenge the petition or insist on the next step, which is the referendum," Andric Rakic believes.

As she emphasizes, the turnout for signing the petition and the non-participation in last year's mayoral elections essentially show that these were not candidates who interested the citizens since the elections were massively boycotted.

"The fact that there was very low turnout in the elections was essentially an indicator from the start that citizens were not satisfied, first with those candidates, and now with those mayors. It is clear that there is a certain level of tension between the citizens in the north and the mayors and the general administration in the Kosovo system. That's simply not a secret. There have been quite unpopular moves, especially in North Mitrovica, concerning the halt of construction work on the university building, at several other locations, and other decisions that simply have not been well-received by the citizens. There is also the decision of the Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica to allocate a larger parcel in the city to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for use, without specific explanations as to why. There are many problematic decisions creating tension between citizens and the administration," Andric Rakic points out.

As she concludes, it is clear that there is no willingness for the system to function in the way legitimate authorities should.