Eurasia Press & News
In the elections for mayors and councilors in majority-Serb municipalities in the North of Kosovo, only two candidates for mayors and one electoral list from the Serbian community ran. Apart from the Civic Initiative “Mitrovica”, which includes one party of the Bosniak minority, there are other Albanian parties, and their candidates are largely unknown to the general public.
Local elections in the North of Kosovo are scheduled for April 23, after the previous ones, planned for December of the previous year, were postponed due to tensions on the ground. There are not many changes – Srpska lista, due to the unfulfilled demands they made on November 5, during the collective abandonment of institutions by Serbs from the North of Kosovo, is boycotting the election process again, as are the other Serbian options operating in the North of Kosovo, and the opposition is SL – Serbian survival and Za Zubin Potok. The Kosovo Serb Party and independent candidate Slađana Pantović are the only ones from the Serbian community whose names will be on the ballot on Sunday.
In addition to the elections for mayors in four municipalities, elections for aldermen of the Municipal Assemblies in Leposavic and Zvečan are also held.
Northern Mitrovica
Candidates registered three options – Self-determination, PDK and GI “Mitrovica”.
The candidate of Self-Determination is Erden Atić, who was also nominated by Kurti’s party in the last, failed elections in Mitrovica. At the previous one, Atić was a candidate for GI “Mitrovica”, but now Samopredeljenje has decided to perform independently. He is currently a councilor in the City Assembly.
PDK did the same. The candidate of this party is Taulant Keljmendi. There is not much information about him, and in addressing his friends on his private Facebook account, Keljmendi said that his candidacy is an act of sincerity, desire and faith he has for Mitrovica, which he “carries in his heart”.
The already mentioned GI “Mitrovica” is running with Betim Osmani as a candidate for mayor. This businessman who ran a series of businesses from a family restaurant, through a construction company, all the way to a milk packaging company. He also lived abroad for some time, and is currently the executive director of a company that supports the private sector in the development of innovative business ideas, “Smatr Investing Lab”, which he is also the founder of. He graduated in business administration and management at the University of Pristina. He was also a candidate for mayor in 2017, then in front of AKR (Aleanca Kosova e Re) of Bedžet Pacoli, when he won 354 (or 4.45%) votes. In the local elections in North Mitrovica in 2021.
Zubin Potok
PDK nominated Izmir Zećiri, one of the municipal administration officials in charge of communities and return, while Self-Determination opted for Flatron Hasani.
There is no more information about Hasani, on his Facebook account he mostly uploads the statuses of the party he is a part of, while Zećiri has also had media appearances.
In the show “Candy and Debate”, he spoke about holding elections, saying that maybe it’s not the time for it.
“I think maybe now is not the time because of the circumstances and it looks like there will be problems. However, we are in daily engagement. There are facts that there may be problems during the election process, there are signs that it will be followed by problems. However, first of all, it is the Government’s decision to keep them. Perhaps it would have been more positive if they were delayed for one more swing. But we have to fulfill our duty, because we are engaged and focused,” Zećiri said.
Leposavić
PDK and LVV, as well as the Party of Kosovo Serbs, have candidates in Leposavic.
PDK opted for Albulena Behluli Heltemi, while Kurti’s party is running for Ljulzim Hetemi.
One of the two Serbian options in the elections in the north ran for the president of this party, Aleksandar Jablanović.
Jablanović is the founder of the Serbian List and its first president, until 2016, and then a year later he founded the PKS. As the media reported, he formed the party by transferring the entire provincial committee of the Socialist Movement to it. He was also the vice-president of the municipality of Leposavic, as well as a councilor in the local Assembly, as well as a member of the Serbian Parliament, and he also held positions in the Serbian Government, in the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, which was headed by Aleksandar Vulin, whose It was written that Jablanović is a “trustworthy man”. A former member of the SPS, as well as a minister in the Kosovo Government. After running in the elections, which were postponed, he began to appear more often in the Kosovo media. His party has the best foothold in Leposavic.
Loud
PDK again decided for Ilir Peci, while Self-Determination decided for Fetah Peci.
The people of Zvečan will be able to vote for the independent candidate Slađana Pantović, who was also a candidate four years ago.
He is a fierce critic of the work of the Serbian List – which he accused of feigning patriotism while taking “Kurti’s money”.
After Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani postponed the elections in the middle of the crisis, Pantović told Danas that she was sorry that “Vučić turned out to be more perfidious than Kurti”. A few months after she declared that she regretted believing in Kurti’s power and that “a smart person learns from other people’s mistakes, a fool from his own”, Pantović, as a candidate, paid an official visit to Kurti.
“At today’s meeting with my great friend and Prime Minister Kurti,” Pantović wrote alongside a photo from the meeting. Earlier, Kurtija also accused of an agreed scenario with Srpski list.
