Serb List against going to the referendum to replace the mayor: Kurti did everything to make the vote fail

The president of the Serb List, Zlatan Elek, said today that the position of that political party is not to go to the upcoming referendum, where it will be decided to replace the four, as he points out, illegitimate mayors in the north of Kosovo, because Albin Kurti did everything to prevent that referendum from succeeding.

One swallow does not make a summer, Elek said at the press conference and expressed his belief that their attitude reflects the attitude of the Serbian people in the north of Kosovo.

Elek also pointed out that impossible procedures are foreseen for the vote to replace the mayor on April 21. According to the data, there are 46,248 voters in the north, and according to the instructions of the CEC, it is necessary that 50 percent of voters plus one vote turn out.

"On several occasions, during meetings with representatives of the Quint region and ambassadors, we warned that these data are not accurate and that they do not maintain the true situation on the ground, because in the last few months, more than 15 percent of people from the north of Kosovo and Metohija have moved out. Unfortunately, we did not come across an understanding," said Elek and added that there are a number of other processes that could have been used to remove mayors, such as their impeachment.

He also pointed out that the voter lists do not reflect the real situation on the ground. Recently, he says, the number of Albanians on the voter lists has increased, because in two months in all municipalities, the number of voters has increased disproportionately, by as much as 433 percent.

He also stated the precise numbers of Albanian voters by municipality, but also by parts of the cities in the north, citing them as irregularities that they noticed on the ground.

Elek says that there are a number of deficiencies in the operational plan of the CEC, because the voter list was closed on April 8, while the preliminary list of voters outside Kosovo was published on April 4, which is updated after complaints. Registration was open from April 5, and the online application is open until April 3. Registration for voters outside Kosovo lasted eight days, from March 29 to April 5.

"It is illogical that they let the voter list be updated for one day after the decisions of the Kosovo Appeals Panel whether to accept individual appeals, while they checked our petition for 45 days. Imagine our old fellow citizens who do not live here and who want to apply online, they have to be so computer-educated, maybe even more than us, in order to succeed in applying. That's where we lose a certain number of voters," Elek said, adding that applications by mail were not successful in the past.

Elek also said that a large number of Albanian politicians doubt whether the referendum is a regular issue.

"Maybe we go to the referendum for nothing and mistreat the citizens who have been mistreated enough by the repression of the regime in Pristina. And that question arises - is the referendum valid according to the constitution. One swallow does not make a spring. With the arrival of four of our mayors, Albanian councilors will remain until the end of their mandate ", he said and added that they also brought this to the attention of foreign ambassadors.

He particularly pointed out as a paradox in the north of Kosovo - the composition of election commissions, because the CEC formed a relationship - four Albanians "to" one Serb, and all decisions are made - by simple majority.

He also emphasized that he had never seen voting with cameras in the referendum.

"I have not seen any referendum being held in the presence of cameras. The proposal is to conduct the referendum in schools that are part of the Serbian education system. The Albanians want cameras to be installed in every classroom and hallway, so they borrowed a certain number of cameras from the CEC in Albania. The people are rightly asking the question, what will the cameras at the polling stations be, if we have election commissions and so much control, and now more cameras are needed," said Elek.

His reason is clear:

"Each of our citizens will be recorded, which will surely be used tomorrow as material by Xhelal Svecla and his henchmen, to call the people for interviews with the police, as has happened so far."

Even if the referendum succeeds, he reminds that the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has a deadline by which she should call a vote to replace the mayor. That is why he is sure that the mayors will remain until the end of their mandate, regardless of whether 40, 50, 70 or 100 percent of the citizens turn out for the referendum.

He is particularly concerned that citizens in Leposavic are being threatened with the denial of social benefits and pensions by the Pristina authorities.

"The local Serbs are also involved in these threats. People ask fearfully if they will be removed from the list, because they were threatened when they signed the petition, and we also have information that certain people have been removed from those lists. The position of the Serb List is not to participates in the referendum called by Albin Kurti, because he did everything to prevent that referendum from succeeding. I think this attitude reflects the attitude of the Serbian people in the north of Kosovo," said Elek.