The signing of the petitions, which would pave the way for the dismissal of Albanian mayors in four municipalities in north Kosovo, has now concluded. Representatives of the groups that initiated this process have confirmed this to Radio Free Europe (RFE).
Darko Vuksanović from the group for Zvecan confirmed to RFE that a sufficient number of signatures were collected during the first day (Friday, January 19).
In Zubin Potok municipality, where the signing took place from January 19 to 22, a significant number of signatures were collected, confirmed Srdjan Vučinić, one of the initiators.
Previously, Sanja Krtinić from the initiating group in North Mitrovica stated that the process of collecting signatures had been completed. Sufficient signatures were also collected on Saturday, January 20, in the Leposavic municipality.
The petition initiators did not specify how many citizens have signed, stating only that more signatures than the required minimum have been collected.
In North Mitrovica municipality, at least 3,640 eligible voters were required to sign the petition, in Leposavic 2,689 voters, in Zvecan 1,411 voters, and in Zubin Potok 1,347 voters. These figures represent 20% of the total number of voters in these municipalities.
The next step is to submit the petitions with signatures to the municipal assembly presidents.
After the petition with signatures is submitted, the assembly president has three days to deliver it to the Central Election Commission (CEC) for examination and verification.
If the CEC confirms that the collected signatures are appropriate and verifies them, a vote for the dismissal of the mayor is organized, which must be held within 45 days. For this vote to be successful, 50% plus one vote of eligible citizens is required.
Afterward, the result is sent to the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, who has a legal deadline of 30 to 45 days to announce early elections.
Albanian mayors were elected in April 2023, in elections boycotted by the Serbs, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the policies of the Government of Kosovo.
The start of their duties caused tensions in late May last year, which culminated in Zvecan, where Serbian protesters clashed with members of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR).
The international community has called for a reduction in tensions and the announcement of new elections in the four municipalities in north Kosovo.
The petition has also been signed by representatives of the Serb List, a party that boycotted the elections and removed its representatives from Kosovo’s institutions, also encouraging the departure of other Serbs.
The withdrawal from the institutions was done in dissatisfaction with the decision of the Government of Kosovo regarding the replacement of license plates from those issued by Serbia to those issued by Kosovo. However, this issue has been resolved since then.
In mid-October 2023, this party declared that it was ready to participate in the elections in the northern municipalities without setting any conditions for participating in the elections, as it had done earlier.
This position of the party was taken after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called on Serbian representatives in north Kosovo to initiate new elections so that the “main levers of power are in their hands”.
This call was preceded by an armed attack in Banjska, Zvecan, on September 24, when a group of Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police, killing one officer. The responsibility for the attack was taken by the former deputy head of the Serbian List, Milan Radojičić.
