Simic: The electoral will of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija is being rewritten, and the EU is looking on favorably

Igor Simic, a member of the Presidency of the Serb List, assessed that the results of Kosovo's snap parliamentary elections show that only the Serb List received genuine voter support and increased its vote total compared to the previous elections, while all Albanian parties suffered what he described as a debacle.

Speaking on RTS's morning program, Simic recalled the arrest of seven directors of healthcare and educational institutions in Gracanica, as well as the arrest of three people on election day or the day before.

“Repression was carried out with the aim of intimidating Serbs so that they would not exercise their right to vote, or in other words, so that they would not be able to choose their representatives in the Kosovo parliament. When we talk about the number of votes, the Serb List won the highest number of votes it has received in the last four electoral cycles, more than 43,800 votes. Unlike all Albanian parties, which recorded a drastic decline, the Serb List increased its vote total,” Simic said.

He stated that the Serb List faced the full apparatus of Albin Kurti's government during the elections, while Nenad Rasic enjoyed comprehensive support from the authorities in Pristina.

“What is characteristic is that the Serb List faced the entire regime of Albin Kurti in these elections, while on the other hand their favorite, Nenad Rasic, had comprehensive support. What we are witnessing is a distortion of democracy and of the legal protection mechanisms that were put in place,” Simic explained.

He stated that Rasic's party received more than 43 percent of its votes in Albanian-majority areas.

“In the municipality of Prizren, where there are only a few dozen Serbs, he received 440 votes. In the municipality of Pec, in the urban center where there are no Serbs, he received 140 votes. In Djakovica, he received 81,” Simic said, adding:

“In Istok there are three Serbian villages – Gorazdevac, Osojane, and Vidanje. In those places, in Gorazdevac, the Serb List won 250 votes, while Nenad Rasic received only five. He received all of his other votes in the urban center. Serbs vote in the Serbian villages, in Kmetovce, Silovo, and elsewhere, while votes for him come from town centers where there have been no Serbs since 2009. An even better example is South Mitrovica, where only a priest and his family live. Even he is registered to vote in the municipality of North Mitrovica, yet Rasic received more than 70 votes there,” Simic explained.

He said that the Serb List would file an appeal after the final results are announced because it is necessary to protect the Serbian people's right to choose their own representatives and prevent Nenad Rasic from obtaining a parliamentary mandate through Albanian votes.

“Immediately after the final results are announced, we will submit an appeal to the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel and then to higher judicial instances. It is truly shameful that in situations like this, when a legal mechanism designed to protect the Serbian people's right to choose their representatives is being undermined, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos came out only a few hours after polling stations closed and praised the elections as democratic. These are elections in which a non-majority community is deprived of its right to representation, and electoral engineering makes it possible for someone elected by Albanian votes to become an MP who is supposed to represent Serbian interests,” Simic said.

Simic warned that with “three of their own Serbs,” the authorities in Pristina could change all legal protection mechanisms.

“They could vote for unification with Albania. After that, there would be no more talk of dialogue and no more struggle for the rights of the Serbian people. This is something that, apparently, is being viewed favorably by the European Union. With those three Serbs who will serve them rather than the Serbian people, they could change things so that our monasteries are no longer monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but of some other, Kosovo or Albanian church. This is the danger we have been discussing with international representatives for months because what is taking place is the rewriting of the electoral will of the Serbian people and the endangerment of their vital interests. Unfortunately, the reactions have not been what we expected, especially from those who constantly speak about the rule of law,” Simic said.

He stated that the Serb List had not been allowed to fully monitor the elections because it had been denied an adequate number of polling board members.

“In North Kosovska Mitrovica alone, at nearly one-third of the polling stations, we were not allowed to have our representatives on polling boards, even though we won more than 90 percent of the vote there in the previous elections,” he said.

He stressed that support from Belgrade is essential for the Serbian people in Kosovo.

“The Serb List is merely the umbilical cord that politically connects Belgrade and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Without Belgrade's support, we could not survive for even 24 hours in Kosovo and Metohija. Belgrade guarantees our security and our economic survival through all the assistance our people receive from their state. That is why Belgrade's voice is highly respected and valued, which is also reflected in the number of votes won by the Serb List. Especially over the past 13 years, under the policies of President Aleksandar Vucic, new jobs have been created in education and healthcare, social benefits and student allowances have been provided, all of which make life in Kosovo and Metohija possible. If anyone is preserving the multiethnic character of that area, it is Belgrade, not the international organizations that claim to support it,” Simic said.

Asked when the formation of the Assembly in Pristina could be expected, Simic said it was difficult to predict.

“What is a fact, as I said, is that only the Serb List received genuine voter support and increased its vote total compared to the previous elections. All Albanian parties suffered a debacle in terms of the number of votes received. Vetëvendosje alone currently has 187,000 fewer votes than it did in the December elections, which is a clear message from citizens that they can no longer tolerate what has been happening on the political scene. The Serb List will continue to fight for the rights of the Serbian people under any circumstances, no matter how difficult it may be and regardless of how many actions by Pristina and its sponsors are directed against it. Once again, we have proven that we are a strong bulwark, that we stand behind our people and their rights, and that nothing will prevent us from preserving the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija,” he said.

In conclusion, Simic assessed that citizens can be satisfied with the Serb List's results.

“In these elections, we also had some new faces who brought fresh energy and new ideas. The Serb List has shown that it is an organization that welcomes people regardless of their political affiliation, provided that the national interests of the Serbian people and all citizens of Serbia come first,” he concluded.