Surlic: Mayors in the north engaged in populist measures directed by Pristina

Over the past year, the mayors in the four northern municipalities have dealt with peripheral issues that do not concern the real life and daily reality in the north. These were mostly some populist measures directed by Pristina, whose effect was to send a message that the Serbs, as a community, do not have the right to distinctiveness, Stefan Surlic, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, says to Kosovo Online on the occasion of the first anniversary of the mandates of the Albanian mayors in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok.

"They dealt with signs, the implementation of expropriation measures imposed by the central government in Pristina, and all possible actions that would undermine the idea that there is a special city of Mitrovica in the north in the context of some unification of the southern and northern parts of Mitrovica, as well as the idea that these municipalities become members of an association with Albanian municipalities. These were all populist measures that had no real effect except for intimidation and sending a message that the Serbs, as a community, do not have the right to distinctiveness, to their institutions, and that regardless of the dialogue process, Pristina has a clear agenda to undermine normal life for the Serbs still living in the north," Surlic says.

He assumes that these mayors will remain in office until the local elections in 2025.

"It should not be forgotten that in terms of technical and infrastructure capacity, they lack the ability to truly address issues that are of essential importance for local self-governments because they have a shortage of employees and lack communication with the local population, which are prerequisites for functioning even if they had good intentions towards the Serbian community living in the north. What is happening with the Postal Savings Bank, as well as the failure to withdraw expropriation decisions, tells me that they will remain until the end of their mandates and that regular elections might be a chance for some turning point," Surlic states.

The four Albanian mayors were elected in elections held on April 23, 2023, which were boycotted by the Serbs. The first to take office was Erden Atiq in North Mitrovica, who was sworn in on May 19, while Ilir Peci in Zvecan, Lulzim Hetemi in Leposavic, and Izmir Zeqiri in Zubin Potok took their oaths on May 25.