Kosovo Government considers it difficult to achieve the fulfillment of criteria for the dismissal of Albanian mayors in the north

The Government of Kosovo considers it "difficult to achieve" the fulfillment of criteria for the dismissal of Albanian mayors in four municipalities in the north through a petition of Serbian citizens, as stated in the report on the analysis of local democracy mechanisms approved at the Government meeting, as reported by Reporteri.

The conclusions of the report state that the "initiative to dismiss mayors is practically difficult to achieve due to the quota of 20 percent of registered voters to initiate the process."

It is also emphasized that until 2023, there was no sufficient legal basis for the operationalization of the mechanism for the initiative to dismiss municipal mayors, and this mechanism has not been used in any municipality.

The request for the dismissal of municipal mayors faces challenges as it has a high quota of voters as a criterion, while there is still not sufficient legal basis for the mechanism of the initiative to dismiss mayors, even with the adoption of the Administrative Instruction for the implementation of that initiative.

There is a mention of the need to amend legislation related to petitions and civic initiatives, as well as clear regulations in their consideration by municipalities.

"The revision of the required quota for the dismissal procedures of municipal mayors is a recommendation to improve this mechanism. On the other hand, efforts to round off the legal basis that would enable and clarify the procedure for the initiative to dismiss the president should be more thoroughly examined," the report states.

Albanian mayors took over power in four municipalities in the north at the end of May, following the elections on April 23. Serbs from northern Kosovo boycotted the local elections, resulting in an turnout of only about three percent.