Jevtic: Kurti and the CEC using political engineering to secure a seat for Rasic

The Mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, stated that the Central Election Commission (CEC) is attempting to secure a parliamentary seat for Nenad Rasic within the Serbian community through political engineering, something the Serb List had warned about.

"We have a situation where the Serb List won all 10 guaranteed Serbian seats in the Kosovo Assembly through Serbian votes. We spoke about this on election night as we were receiving preliminary results from polling stations where Serbs voted. Based on those results, it was clear that we had secured 10 mandates. However, during the vote-counting process, Kurti managed to insert his protege into parliament, giving him a seat thanks to Albanian votes from Melisevo, Glogovac, Djakovica, and most notably Prizren, where Rasic received 157 votes, not from Serbs, but from Albanians," Jevtic told RTS.

He added that it is clear the votes Rasic received were not Serbian.

"To illustrate, in Prizren, the Serb List received votes from the village of Musljikovo, where Serbs live. However, in the part of Prizren where Albanians reside, Rasic received votes. In rural Prizren, 74 Bosniaks and Albanians voted for him, and in an exclusively Albanian neighborhood, he got 83 votes. In total, he received 421 Albanian votes, which allowed him to enter the Assembly. It is evident that Rasic was not elected by Serbs but by Albanians. Kurti, through the CEC and by directing these Albanian votes, ensured that Rasic received those 400 votes, as without them, he would not have secured a seat in parliament," Jevtic emphasized.

Since Igor Simic referred to this as political engineering and the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, called it electoral manipulation, Jevtic was asked about the legal options available for the Serb List to challenge the situation. He responded that an appeal would be filed.

"In the Kosovo Assembly, in addition to 100 seats for Albanian representatives, there are 20 seats reserved for non-majority communities, 10 of which are guaranteed for Serbs. Political engineering happened in the following way: during the election process, Rasic received Albanian votes, which allowed him to enter parliament. The Serb List had to secure ten times more votes than other parties to win seats – and we did so, with Serbian votes. We received over 39,000 Serbian votes, nearly 40,000. Through a legitimate electoral process, we secured all 10 mandates with Serbian votes. Kurti was determined to secure that one seat for Rasic by any means necessary," Jevtic said.

Jevtic recalled a similar situation from the previous parliamentary elections in Kosovo when there was an outcry over Adrijana Hodzic receiving votes from areas where Bosniaks did not live, but rather Serbs.

"At that time, the international community and all Albanian politicians strongly opposed the idea that one ethnic group could elect representatives of another. Bosniak organizations filed complaints, and both the Supreme Court and the CEC ruled that members of one ethnic community could not elect representatives of another. Now, the question is: what will happen in this case? I believe we should file an appeal and expose the hypocrisy of both the international community and the Albanian leadership in Kosovo. Back then, one of the loudest critics was Rasic himself, who argued that it was unacceptable for Adrijana Hodzic, as a representative of the Bosniak community, to receive votes from areas where only Serbs lived. Now, Rasic himself has entered parliament thanks to Albanian votes. And most importantly, if this decision stands, Rasic will not be a representative of the Serbian community – just as he never truly was. He conducted his campaign in Albanian and openly sought Albanian votes. As a result, the Kosovo Assembly will have only nine true Serbian representatives, meaning Serbs will no longer have their guaranteed ten seats," Jevtic stated.

He added that it wouldn’t be the first time laws were ignored.

"Rasic was previously appointed minister in the government in a position reserved for Serbs. Kurti deliberately made that move. The former president of Kosovo’s Constitutional Court, Mr. Hasani, recently confirmed in an interview that Rasic should not have been appointed minister because he was not elected by Serbs. There are designated positions for Serbs in Kosovo's institutions, including in the government. What will be the consequence of this? That seat will be traded for political favors, it will not represent the will of Serbs but rather the will of Albanians," Jevtic said.

He stressed that the international community must respond.

"What happened yesterday was extremely negative – the French ambassador rushed to Rasic to legitimize him. There is a constant attempt to ban the Serb List because it is the only party defending Serbian interests, while Albanian votes are being used to select Serbian representatives. Kurti lost this election, he has 10% fewer votes than four years ago. The Serb List won because, despite all pressures and arrests, we secured ten mandates with Serbian votes. As for what happens next, we will see once the final results are confirmed. We will file an appeal and observe how the situation unfolds," Jevtic concluded.