Gogic: Rejection of the request for the dismissal of the mayors is an introduction to a new crisis; the EU to increase pressure for resignations

The fact that the President of the Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica rejected the request to initiate a petition for the removal of the mayors, initiated by a group of citizens in accordance with the Administrative Instruction of the Government of Kosovo, signifies a warning for both the European Union and the Serbs in Kosovo that Pristina will evidently procrastinate and obstruct its own procedures, political analyst Ognjen Gogic believes. He warns that this could more likely turn into a new crisis than lead to new elections in the four Serbian municipalities in the north.

"Even though Pristina requested through the Administrative Instruction that the Serbs initiate a petition for the removal of the mayors, recent moves show that it does not intend to facilitate and expedite the implementation of this procedure. The fact that some demands of the Kosovo authorities have been met by the Serbs does not mean that the Government in Pristina will be cooperative. This shows the European Union, above all, that this is not the way to overcome the crisis and that Pristina will obstruct its own procedures. This is a warning and an indicator to the international community that they should abandon the petition for the removal of the mayors and instead focus on pressuring and demanding that both the mayors and the councilors resign as soon as possible", Gogic says for Kosovo Online.

However, he says that the rejection of the initiative by a group of Serbian citizens does not mean that the attempt to initiate the removal of the mayors in North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan, and Zubin Potok has definitively failed.

"As far as I understand, the request submitted in North Mitrovica has been rejected, more like dismissed, but the applicants can rectify the shortcomings. They can either resubmit a supplemented request or file complaints about the actions of authorities in the northern municipalities. Ultimately, they also have the Central Election Commission as a second instance. They have not exhausted all possibilities to launch this initiative; they will only have additional complications. However, this should be understood as a warning that Pristina authorities will do everything they can to complicate this process", Gogic says.

He emphasizes once again that the fact that the Serbs in the northern municipalities accepted Pristina's request and initiated the removal of the mayors through a petition does not mean they will encounter open doors with Kosovo authorities.

"This does not mean that Pristina will make it easy for them. Therefore, they should reconsider whether they should continue this initiative at all because complications will greet them at every next step. When the initiative is approved, signatures are collected through the petition, and later a referendum is announced. There is plenty of room for new bureaucratic obstacles, and Pristina authorities will scrutinize every signature, every comma, making it no easier for the initiators. So, it is really a question of whether they should proceed with this. The worst that can happen is that they start and then at some point give up, that the initiative is not realized, that they do not collect enough signatures of support and do not secure enough citizen participation in the referendum", our interlocutor emphasizes.

He adds that this would then further complicate the position of the Serbian community in northern Kosovo.

"One really needs to question whether it is now necessary to accept these demands from Pristina or if one should remain firm in the position that the Serbs have taken, which is that if new elections are to be held, it must be exclusively after the resignations of mayors. Perhaps this was some maneuver; perhaps the Serbs tried to use this mechanism to show the international community that Pristina is not cooperative and that pressure should then be shifted back to them, insisting that resignations be submitted", Gogic notes.

He questions what the Serbs would gain from this initiative.

"If the petition request is approved, the Serbs would then have to collect signatures for it, followed by a referendum on the removal of the mayors, and only then new elections. People would essentially have to sign something three times to get mayors who would again not have the support of a majority in the municipal assemblies. So, even if new mayors are elected, they would not have the support of municipal assembly members because they are composed of representatives from Albanian political parties. They would obstruct and block the work of these mayors. Therefore, it would be a Pyrrhic victory for the Serbs, even if new elections were called and new mayors were elected", he warns.

He believes that instead, it would be more advisable for the Serbs to stick to the stance that they will participate in new elections, but under the condition that they occur through the resignations of mayors and councilors.

"This is the fastest way and is in line with the EU's demands to call elections as soon as possible. It is also the only way to ensure that these new local authorities in the four northern municipalities are functional and able to meet the needs of the citizens", Gogic concludes.