Citizens of North Mitrovica and Leposavic on local elections: What we lack is peace and freedom, we hope for better

Peace and freedom first, followed by the resolution of mounting communal problems, are the expectations of citizens in North Mitrovica and Leposavic ahead of the upcoming local elections in Kosovo on October 12. In conversations with Kosovo Online, they said they “hope for better.”

In the center of North Mitrovica, citizens do not hide their frustration with the way the current local administration is functioning.

“Every day they change something. One day they say yes, the next day no, so we will see what happens. Everything is a problem: healthcare, education, everything,” one resident of the municipality pointed out.

Another local said “radical changes” are needed and that this is precisely what he expects from the new mayor.

“We expect the new mayor to make things better than they are now, that is what I expect, nothing more. Everything needs to change from the roots in order for things to improve. A lot has to change to make things better,” he said.

A third resident also expects change, citing as an example the condition of the Orthodox cemetery in South Mitrovica as a reflection of the authorities’ attitude toward citizens.

“We all expect something good, for things to get better. But looking at how things are, it is going pretty hard. Still, we hope it will get better,” he explained.

Unhappy with the current state of affairs in the town, few are willing to speak out about the problems because, as they note, there are too many.

“I expect something better. Many changes are needed, plenty of them,” another local said briefly.

Residents of Leposavic share similar thoughts.

They hope the new elections will bring peace and freedom, but also complain that they are not sufficiently informed about the upcoming vote.

“There is nothing on television about the campaign, and people in general don’t talk about it. I would only like things to be a little better, for life to be better. What citizens lack is peace, peace and tranquility, to have freedom of movement,” one woman said.

Leposavic residents also point out that elections are rarely discussed.

“I honestly don’t know. I hardly go out, so we don’t hear anything. People barely talk about it, there’s nothing,” another resident said.

Dragisa Miljojkovic believes the campaign should last throughout the entire mandate, not only in the run-up to elections, so that people constantly receive support.

“In my opinion, the election campaign shouldn’t start when elections begin, it should be ongoing, non-stop, so that it can help people. That is what the campaign should be. Now, when it’s 10 or 15 days before the election, everything is pushed to the maximum, and then people don’t know who to listen to,” Miljojkovic stressed.

He added that there are plenty of promises.

“There are a lot of promises, but God grant that things only get better, that there be peace and freedom. As the saying goes: may we be alive and well, may there be peace in the country, nothing more,” Miljojkovic emphasized.

An older resident of Leposavic said that communal issues, particularly those related to infrastructure, should be the primary focus.

He noted that this is most visible in rural areas, where many villages lack both electricity and roads.

“Villages are deserted, no one wants to invest in them. And those who stayed behind, they suffer. No electricity, no roads… what more can I say,” he said.