Gudzic: Political motives behind CEC decision on new voters in Gracanica

Ahead of the local elections in Gracanica, the number of voters has increased following the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC). Historian Aleksandar Gudzic stated that the CEC was guided by political motives when it decided that residents of the Marigona settlement and other areas within the territory of Gracanica, where Albanians live, may exercise their voting rights in this municipality, even though in previous election processes they had cast their votes in other municipalities.

In his view, such a decision by the CEC will affect the election results in Gracanica, where Albanian parties will achieve better results than in the previous election cycle, thereby gaining greater decision-making power.

“The decision of the CEC is strange, as it did not leave the owners of weekend houses, the people living in Marigona, as well as those in other settlements where Albanians reside, the possibility of choosing, but rather unilaterally decided that they will vote in the municipality of Gracanica. In my opinion, this was deliberately done to change the demographic structure and to strengthen the Albanian element,” Gudzic told Kosovo Online.

He added that the residents of those settlements should have been given the opportunity to decide for themselves where they would exercise their voting rights.

“To illustrate, I can own ten houses, but I have residence in one place, and it is at that place where I can exercise my constitutionally guaranteed right to vote and to be elected,” said Gudzic.

He pointed out, however, that the problem in Gracanica is not new, but has been ongoing for the past 15 years.

“In the initial phase, Albanian businessmen and construction companies illegally built structures on the territory of Gracanica municipality. In the next phase, those structures were legalized by municipal officials, and now we are in the situation we face today. One did not need to be overly wise to conclude what could happen in the future if we allow the construction of Albanian houses and the settlement of Albanians. Perhaps not in this election process, but in some future local elections, there is a real danger that Albanians could take over the municipality of Gracanica,” he said.

He added that a similar process had taken place in the past in Strpce, which is why he believes a similar problem can be expected in the municipality of Strpce in the future. Serbian political parties—above all the Serb List, which enjoys the greatest support among Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija—he stressed, must put a stop to such processes in the future.