Serb List after Rasic’s election: We will appeal this decision; the constituting of the Assembly has not been completed

After the election of Nenad Rasic as Deputy Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Serb List Vice President Igor Simic stated that another farce of a session had ended, showing once again that justice and the rule of law no longer exist.

Simic announced that the Serb List would appeal the decision.

“Today they are violating the rights of the Serbian people, tomorrow they will violate the rights of the Albanian people if they don’t think like Kurti. You should know that what was done today is contrary to the Constitution and the ruling of the Constitutional Court. Those who supported Rasic have violated the Constitution and have no right to speak about the rule of law,” Simic said.

He added that no existing legal act allows for the protection or realization of the rights of the Serbian people.

“The constituting of the Assembly has not been completed today, don’t let them lie to you. Let me read a part of the Constitutional Court ruling which states: according to it, the winner of the elections from the Serbian community has the exclusive right to nominate the candidate for Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from the Serbian community. This ruling of the Constitutional Court has been violated. We, as a political option, are aware that Rasic was forcibly installed as an MP, and now he has been proclaimed Deputy Speaker in the same way. He was not elected by the Serbian people, he is just another member of the Self-Determination. He should rather go to the prosecutor’s office and give a statement about the scandals appearing in both Albanian and Serbian media, instead of holding such an important position as Deputy Speaker,” Simic said.

He continued:

“Secondly, and very importantly, they elected a man without even stating that he had resigned from his position as minister. So we now have the absurd situation where Rasic can be a minister, an MP, and a Deputy Speaker at the same time. You don’t have to be a lawyer to understand that this is illegal. Serb List will appeal this decision of the Assembly. We already warned them earlier when we said that the Assembly was not properly constituted, but they were celebrating its formation. The citizens deserve functioning institutions that work for them, and respect for the rights of the Serbian people is what we demand. Today they are violating the rights of the Serbian people, tomorrow they will violate the rights of the Albanian people. What has been done is against the Constitution and the ruling of the Constitutional Court, and therefore everyone who supported Rasic has violated the Constitution and no longer has the right to talk about the rule of law.”

Simic also called on Albanian-language media to support Serbian-language outlets in following the electoral process, after the CEC refused to accredit Serbian media.

“The question is: what does the government want to hide on October 12? What is it that citizens are not supposed to know? What could the cameras of Serbian newsrooms record that Kurti’s regime doesn’t want to be seen?”

He added that Rasic received his mandate with Albanian votes, against the Constitution, and has now been given a new position in the same unconstitutional way.

“But on October 12, the Serbian people will show their will and vote for Serb List. I take this opportunity to call on everyone to take part and vote for Serb List. We must not allow them to steal our will, our votes, and destroy what is called democracy,” Simic emphasized.

Nenad Rasic, a member of the Kosovo Assembly and Minister for Communities and Returns in a caretaker capacity, was elected today as Deputy Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly from the Serbian community, after none of the Serb List MPs received enough votes.