Baraliu: New elections needed in the north, international community should get involved

Mazllum Baraliu, a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Pristina, says that the easier path to new local elections in the north would involve the resignation of the current mayors, which is what Belgrade and the Serbs are seeking, however, the Kosovo side insists on a petition. Because of that, as he said, it is necessary for the international community to get involved so that the most acceptable model can be found.

"It is necessary for there to be elections as soon as possible, which would reflect the true situation and the true desires of the majority of citizens, to return to the previous state where those who have the majority gain the majority. We need elections that would be just, fair, and democratic, not marred by fraud and pressure on citizens as happened in previous cycles. In that case, I believe the situation will be stable," Baraliu said.

He also emphasizes that a full investigation of the events in Banjska on September 24 should be conducted before the elections.

"It is necessary to get everything out in the open, to determine what happened. In accordance with the demands of Pristina and the international community, we need to see what role the Serb List played in those events, and then each side should fulfill its obligations, with Kosovo preparing for elections and managing that process, and Serbia exerting a positive influence on the Serbian community, especially on the political front, the Serb List, and others, to get them to participate. Although the Serb List has spoken after President Vucic's call, saying that they will participate, as they coordinate with Belgrade for all matters, as Goran Rakic stated," Baraliu noted.

For now, he says there are two ways to reach the elections – the first, easier one, involves the resignation of mayors, and the second is through administrative instructions and petitions to remove municipal presidents, which, he emphasizes, is more complicated.

"However, there is an obstacle because there is an agreement in Bratislava between the EU and the Government of Kosovo to move toward a petition model supported by at least 20 percent of the voter base. But the latest statement from the Serb List, via Goran Rakic, was that we should go with the model of mayoral resignations. So, it will take time and effort, and Belgrade needs to convince this political group, political parties, primarily the Serb List, to participate in the elections, and the Government of Kosovo needs time to change its opinion, to alter what was prepared through this administrative act if the demands of the international community to go with mayoral resignations prevail," Baraliu said.

However, he points out that if Belgrade's and Pristina's positions do not align, there won't be elections.

"It depends on the investigation, it depends on the goodwill and seriousness of the approach from the international community, Kosovo, and Serbia, because what I see is that everyone wants to buy time in their own way. Belgrade prefers to postpone this, and it seems that Pristina is not so eager to move quickly either because it suits them to have the current situation with mayors from the Albanian minority in that part of the country leading those municipalities," Baraliu said.