Elek: CEC decision made on Kurti’s orders, the Serb List will file an appeal

The President of the Serb List, Zlatan Elek, announced and confirmed that the Central Election Commission (CEC) at its meeting yesterday denied the Serb List the right to participate in the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 9, 2024.

“We believe this was done on Albin Kurti's orders to prevent the participation of Serbs in the elections. This decision has no legal basis and is proof of how much Kurti wants to eliminate Serbs from this region. Kurti doesn’t want to see members of the Serb List in the parliament; he wants obedient Serbs like Nenad Rasic,” Elek stated.

As he added, although the decision is unlawful, it was made because the Serb List is being accused of using the term "Kosovo and Metohija" in a video ad, a term he emphasized is entirely legal as it is a toponym.

“I said instead of Kosovo, the Republic of Serbia. I am proud of those words and firmly stand by everything I have said. This shows just how much the Serb List is a thorn in Kurti's side. This is not a violation of the law and cannot lead to the list being eliminated from the electoral race. Let me give you the example of Mr. Jablanovic’s list, which also uses the term 'Kosovo and Metohija' just like I do, yet his list was approved for the elections. We are aware of all Kurti’s manipulations against the Serb List because he sees us as opponents. This is why he initiated proceedings against all leaders of the Serb List, as well as directors in the public system, claiming that we are fighting against Kosovo’s constitutional order,” he said.

Elek emphasized that the Serb List will fight this decision using all political and democratic means.

“During the day, we will file an appeal to the election panel, and we expect a clear decision from them to reject this undemocratic decision by Kurti. I thank all the citizens, President Aleksandar Vucic, and the US Embassy, which condemned this decision,” Elek concluded.