Surlic: Pristina will not give in, elections in the north will be held on the regular date

Stefan Surlic, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, says for Kosovo Online that he believes Pristina will not show an act of goodwill and call for early local elections, which could also include elections in the four municipalities in northern Kosovo, especially not before the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 9.

The regular local election term in Kosovo is next fall, and the organization of free and democratic local elections in northern Kosovo is one of Belgrade's demands for advancing dialogue, which was presented on September 13 as part of the measures for Kosovo by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Surlic notes that although there were suggestions that the parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo could be held simultaneously, this, he says, would immediately be portrayed as a weak point for Albin Kurti in his campaign and for his Self-Determination Movement, as yielding to Western pressures.

"He has repeatedly stated that he remains committed to certain principled policies regarding the north and that he will not back down, regardless of the pressures. In that context, I don't see Albin Kurti retreating in any way, nor do I think he will hold parliamentary and local elections at the same time. Local elections might happen after the parliamentary ones, but that will be within a short period of a few months. Therefore, I believe that as far as Pristina is concerned, despite international demands and pressures, there will be no concessions, and the local elections will be held in the regular term," Surlic said.

Local elections are called by the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, but Surlic doesn't believe she would take that step without coordination with the government.

"Although Osmani has a slightly softer stance compared to Albin Kurti, she has mostly followed Self-Determination's policies. She has shown some goodwill gestures toward international actors' demands, unlike Albin Kurti, particularly in the recent period concerning the land of the Dečani Monastery and the bridge connecting the northern and southern parts of Mitrovica. 
However, despite these goodwill gestures, she will not do something like that without coordination with the government in Pristina, as she knows it would immediately be politically framed as a form of betrayal of national Albanian interests," Surlic said.

When asked whether the West can be expected to influence decision-makers in Pristina to hold elections in the north sooner, Surlic said that this is a finished issue for them.

"Unfortunately, the prevailing view among Western actors is that Serbs had the opportunity to participate in the referendum and did not take it, while ignoring that the numbers on the electoral rolls were not realistic. For them, this is a closed issue. Elections, when they are held, might occur in a completely different atmosphere of normalized relations, perhaps even within the framework of the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, but for now, this all seems very idealistic compared to the real politics on the ground. Most international actors support Pristina in allowing the current representatives in local administrations to complete their full terms, as long as there are no excessive situations that disrupt security. As for their legality and legitimacy, they mostly don't have an issue with the current situation in the north," Surlic concludes.