Petkovic calls on EU and Quint to exert concrete pressure regarding the ban on certification of the Serb List

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, addressed a letter today to the EU mediator in the dialogue, Peter Sorensen, and the ambassadors of the Quint countries, regarding the latest, as he stated, unlawful and illegal attempt by Albin Kurti to ban the Serb List from participating in the upcoming local elections, RTV reports. Petkovic emphasized that it is necessary for the international community to turn explicit condemnations into concrete pressure in order to enable the Serb List to take part in the forthcoming elections.

“Such already well-known conduct of the so-called CEC represents not only a drastic blow to the fundamental democratic rights of the Serbian people, but also open mockery of the very essence of democracy and the electoral process. The decision was made without any legal basis, solely by the will of members close to Albin Kurti’s ruling extremist movement, and represents a continuation of a series of unilateral, uncoordinated, and escalatory moves by the Pristina regime aimed at the systematic expulsion and political disenfranchisement of Serbs,” Petkovic stressed in his letter, as reported by Tanjug.

He pointed out that the decision is “a political dictate, not a legal measure,” which is confirmed by numerous facts, including that the Office for Accreditation of Political Parties recommended the certification of the Serb List since all candidates had passed the prescribed checks, that even the Ministry of Internal Affairs headed by Xhelal Svecla did not find or submit a single reason against the participation of Serb List candidates in the elections, and that the Kosovo Judicial Council and other institutions did not identify any legal obstacle to the certification of the Serb List.

In his address, Petkovic assessed that the latest blow is “part of a broader persecution of Serbs and their political representatives,” since prominent Serbs and Serb List representatives are being subjected to fabricated proceedings and constant pressure and violence.

“It is obvious that Kurti’s regime is trying to prevent the participation of the Serb List in the elections in order to illegitimately retain its mayors in the four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo and Metohija, and to allow his political allies, without genuine popular support, to take over the guaranteed seats of the Serbian community,” the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija warned.

The Central Election Commission yesterday decided not to certify the participation of the Serb List in the local elections scheduled for October 12.

Today, the Serb List filed an appeal against this decision with the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, and earlier, the President of the Serb List, Zlatan Elek, stated at a press conference that by rejecting the certification of their candidates, the CEC had adopted a discriminatory and unlawful decision.