Miftaraj: There is a risk that the international community will not accept the elections in the north

The executive director of the Kosovo Institute of Justice, Ehat Miftaraj, said that if the Serbs in the north of Kosovo decided not to exercise their right to vote, there was a risk that the international community would not accept the extraordinary elections for the mayors of four municipalities, Gazeta Express reports.

"To be legitimate, the elections in the north must reflect the will of the citizens of the northern part of Kosovo. If the Serbs do not vote, this challenges the legitimacy of the elections in the north. Based on the decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of Adriana Hoxha and Duda Balje, the will of the citizens must be expressed by voting as institutions would have legitimacy and represent their interests," Miftaraj said.

Miftaraj also stated that the absence of a census determined by the Central Election Commission for declaring the election valid could not diminish the decision of the Constitutional Court.

"There is no census in municipal elections, but that still does not diminish the decision of the Constitutional Court, where special importance is given to legitimacy, that the elections are acceptable both to the people and to international partners. The very fact that we have several tens of thousands of citizens of the north, Serbs, Albanians and other communities, and if a negligible percentage participates in these elections, it is difficult for the international community to accept them as fair and as elections that represent the interests of citizens in the northern part," Miftaraj said.