Session of the Government of Kosovo
Photo: Facebook / Albin Kurti
BRUSSELS / PRISTINA – For the third time, Government of Kosovo demanded official request from the Government of Serbia to organize voting of Serbian citizens of Kosovo, which Belgrade refused, citing that it would be recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
The last parliamentary elections organized by Serbia for the Serbian community in Kosovo took place on 21 June 2020. These elections were held according to the previous practice, where votes were collected by the OSCE mission in Kosovo. The ballots were then counted in Raška and Vranje, two border towns in Serbia. The Kosovo authorities permitted it until Prime Minister Albin Kurti came into power.
Milica Andrić Rakić, program manager of the non-governmental organization New Social Initiative from Kosovo, stated to European Western Balkans that the decision by the institutions in Pristina was expected, as there had been no prior pressure to enable voting for Serbs during the previous parliamentary elections, held in April 2022.
“I had to vote in Tutin, a town in Serbia about 20 kilometers away from my place of residence in Kosovo. I spent five hours traveling to the polling station, voting, and returning. For people who have to organize themselves and travel so far to vote, they must have a strong motivation” expressed Andrić Rakić.
Read more on this topic on the European Western Balkans portal.
