A group of women from Mitrovica gathered in front of the municipality building as a peaceful protest

Approximately 30 residents, mostly women, assembled in front of the North Mitrovica municipality building as a peaceful protest against today's assumption of local authority by the candidate who won the elections held on April 23, in which only slightly over three percent of voters participated, including only 13 Serbs.

The gathered individuals stated that their aim was to express peaceful, civic, and democratic disagreement with the illegitimate takeover of the municipality.

Today, the elected candidate from the Self-Determination Movement, Erden Atic, took the oath of office as the mayor of North Mitrovica, receiving 553 votes in the elections.

Prior to the commencement of the oath-taking procedure at the municipality building, the flag of Kosovo was raised.

There has been an increased police presence in North Mitrovica, and EULEX Mission stated for Kosovo Online that they had heightened their state of readiness, with forces on standby 24 hours a day and prepared for rapid response.

The US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, stated yesterday that he expects the mayors of municipalities in the north to assume a technical rather than a political role and emphasized that the use of force to enter the municipality buildings in the north is not a good idea.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic previously stated that the situation in the north is highly tense and conveyed that "fake mayors will never be accepted."