Gogic: It's absurd that someone with a few hundred votes refuses to resign after thousands of citizens have signed the petition

Political analyst Ognjen Gogic stated for Kosovo Online that Pristina had entered the whole process of removing the mayors in the north through local referendums without a valid legal framework in place.

Gogic also points out that some voices from Kosovo have suggested that the legal framework should be established before holding the referendum and that a law should be enacted.

"They define some things on the go, calculated to create legal gaps that allow obstruction. The fact that the Pristina side is only now thinking about the legal framework for the referendum indicates that they never wanted it to happen. At the same time, I think the whole process will be closely monitored from the Pristina side. Every signature, every comma will be checked, and there will be objections from their side. We really expect a long and arduous process until the change of power in northern Kosovo," Gogic says.

He adds that there might be some new administrative steps before continuing with this process, while the administrative instructions from the Ministry of Local Government and the solutions it implies are questionable from a legal perspective.

"It may happen that someone questions the legality of this whole process and that it is halted before reaching the end. That is also an option that is being played," Gogic emphasizes.

As he points out, Serbs have shown, through a record-speed signature collection for the removal of illegitimate mayors in four municipalities in the north, that they not only want their removal but also want to return to the institutions of the Kosovo system. This signal, he adds, should be enough for Pristina to make a gesture, speeding up the process of holding new elections by having mayors and councilors in those municipal assemblies resign.

He notes that the Serbian side had previously left Kosovo institutions and had announced that they might return if certain conditions were met.

"Serbs have since abandoned those conditions. It is a significant step by the Serbian side that Pristina should appreciate. What we need at this moment are de-escalatory gestures. We have had an escalatory spiral for the past two years, where a unilateral or provocative move by one side led to a reaction from the other side. So, now we should go in the opposite direction," Gogic says.

Our interlocutor mentions that the number of petition signatories is much higher than the number of votes those Albanian mayors received in last year's elections.

"It's truly an absurd situation that someone who got a few hundred votes refuses to resign after thousands of people in those municipalities have signed a petition for his removal. Pristina doesn't know what to do with this process because only the first step has been completed. A referendum is ahead, and we've already heard statements that the mechanism still needs to be worked out. So, it is really absurd to put the northern Kosovo community through hoops by starting with petitions, then a referendum, and later elections. Instead, this should be rewarded by resignations to expedite the entire process," Gogic believes.

He also emphasizes that the Pristina government can use the holding of referendums for "general sabotage."

"We've already heard some comments that there are doubts about there being enough turnout in the referendums. It's possible that it is actually a tactic of the Pristina side to force the holding of those referendums and then make everything difficult. If, for example, it turns out that the number of participants is insufficient, they could declare it as a victory. To say that there aren't as many Serbs in northern Kosovo as previously thought. So, I think that is a more likely scenario, that the Pristina side will be stubborn," Gogic assesses.

Our interlocutor believes that this is not a favorable option for Serbs because the threshold is set quite high.

"In a few days, we have collected a sufficient number of signatures for a petition, which was 20% of registered voters. In the referendum, more than 50% of registered voters are needed. It is uncertain whether this can be achieved because there has been an exodus of Serbs from the north in the last two years," Gogic says.

He also points out that the Kosovo electoral system is specific in that local elections are held every four years in all municipalities. This means that if premature elections were held now in the north for mayors, the four northern municipalities, along with all other municipalities, would participate in regular local elections in the fall of 2025.

"I think Pristina will do everything it can to prolong the whole process until then and then say, 'It is pointless now to accelerate the process and hold new elections when regular local elections are coming for the whole of Kosovo anyway,'" Gogic said.