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Serbia's elections are not allowed tomorrow in Kosovo, nor is the use of license plates for Kosovo Serbs

2023-12-16 10:36:42Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Serbia's elections are not allowed tomorrow in Kosovo, nor is the use of
According to the data of the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo, from November 1 to December 14, 3,405 Serbian citizens converted their license plates to RKS

As well as not allowing the holding of Serbian elections in Kosovo, from December 16 the use of license plates of Kosovo Serbs issued by parallel Serbian offices is also not allowed.

According to the data of the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo, from November 1 to December 14, 3,405 Serbian citizens have converted their license plates to RKS.

December 15 was set as the last day of a deadline set by the Kosovo government, when Serbian citizens would be able to register their cars with plates of the Republic of Kosovo, RKS. From December 16, cars bearing license plates with the initials of Kosovo cities, license plates issued by parallel Serbian offices, such as KM, PR, PZ, DE, UR, will be considered illegal by the Kosovar authorities. Officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs say that after December 15th, fines will be imposed for the holders of illegal license plates, and then if they are found on the road again, the cars will be confiscated. "After December 15, citizens who do not register their cars even after the decision determined by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, will be counted as owners of unregistered cars and their cars will not be allowed to circulate in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, including the border crossing points as provided by the legislation in force", said the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Interior, Nora Fetoshi.

The government of Kosovo initially set the date 01.12 for the conversion of license plates of Serbs, but postponed the deadline until December 15, as long queues were observed in front of re-registration centers in the north of Kosovo. According to the data of the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo, from November 1 to December 14, 3,405 Serbian citizens have converted their license plates to RKS and the municipalities with the largest number are North Mitrovica and Leposaviçi. Since last year, there are a total of 4,210 conversions of tables in RKS.

Government of Kosovo: Establishing legality

According to the Government of Kosovo, this entire process is aimed at establishing legality in the north of Kosovo, thus making it impossible for parallel Serbian structures in Kosovo to function, although some of them still function. The decision of the Kosovo government not to allow the holding of Serbian elections on the territory of Kosovo is seen as establishing legality. On December 17, parliamentary elections will be held in Serbia, the third in a row in just three and a half years.

Serbia addresses the OSCE, not the Kosovo government

Serbia's elections are not allowed tomorrow in Kosovo, nor is the use of

Serbian authorities previously asked the OSCE mission in Kosovo, but not official Pristina, to be involved in the vote collection of Kosovo Serbs who have dual citizenship. And precisely why the Serbian request was addressed to the OSCE and not to Pristina to examine it, made the Kosovo government without any hesitation stop the holding of Serbian elections in Kosovo.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, who is also the chief negotiator in the dialogue with Serbia, says that "the attempt to organize elections of another state in Kosovo without a prior request, is not in the spirit of dialogue and without a direct official request from Serbia, then there can be no decision".

"There are no elections planned this year in our state. If the authorities of other countries prefer to organize elections in Kosovo for their diaspora, then they should officially ask our authorities for a positive decision and support. The attempt to organize elections without a prior request or positive decision is not in the spirit of dialogue and does not contribute to the building of trust", said Besnik Bislimi.

The EU criticizes Kosovo

Officials of the European Union considered that Pristina's decision to "not allow the holding of Serbian elections in Kosovo, is not in accordance with the spirit of dialogue and building trust between Kosovo and Serbia." The EU had recommended Kosovo to resume practices to allow Kosovo Serbs to vote within the country during parliamentary elections. "As a result, Serbian voters will have to travel to cities in southern Serbia to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections on December 17. This decision is not in accordance with the spirit of the Dialogue, the principle of protecting the rights of non-majority communities and building trust between Kosovo and Serbia", said the spokesperson of the European Commission, Peter Stano. Kosovo Serbs who have dual citizenship will be able to vote for the elections in Serbia from Kosovo, but only through the post office or the Serbian Liaison Office in Kosovo. 

The Republican Electoral Commission of Serbia announced that on December 17, Serbs from Kosovo can exercise their right to vote in the border towns of Serbia, Vranje, Kurshumli, Raskë and Tutin. In the last elections in Serbia, in April last year, more than 93 thousand citizens from the municipalities of Kosovo had the right to vote. But now, according to data from the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government of Serbia, this time there are almost 30,000 more voters, or more than 120,000. In the past, Serbian elections were also held in Kosovo, where the OSCE mission was involved in the collection of votes, which were then sent to Serbia for counting. This practice was allowed by the Kosovo authorities earlier. The OSCE mission has announced that, however, it remains ready to support the collection of votes, as it has done in previous cases.

The last parliamentary elections that Serbia has organized for the Serb community in Kosovo were those of June 21, 2020. These elections had been held since 2017, where voting centers were opened in Kosovo for Serbs who were assisted by The OSCE. But this time, Kosovo Serbs who have dual citizenship can vote for the elections in Serbia, but only through the Serbian Liaison Office in Kosovo, or through the mail. On November 1, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced the holding of new parliamentary elections on December 17, the third election in a row in Serbia in only three and a half years. The holding of parliamentary elections in Serbia takes place at a time when the entire international community is making efforts to normalize Kosovo-Serbia relations, through dialogue facilitated by the European Union. DW


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