Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, has accused Serbia of directly interfering in the upcoming local elections to be held in Kosovo on October 12.
Osmani made these statements during a meeting with the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Kreshnik Radoniqi.
“President Osmani placed special emphasis on Serbia’s direct interference in the local elections — a recurring phenomenon over the years — which is manifesting through vote buying, external interventions, intimidation, and violence,” the Kosovo Presidency said in a statement.
Osmani called for full engagement to protect the integrity of the electoral process, strongly condemning Belgrade’s involvement.
“She also appealed to all political and institutional actors, as well as international stakeholders, to contribute to safeguarding the free vote and to condemn any illegal act that undermines the democratic will of Kosovo’s citizens,” the statement continued.
Kurti Also Accuses Serbia of Interference
Two days earlier, Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, also accused Serbia of interfering in the October 12 elections, through promises of jobs and financial benefits.
Kurti said that the recent actions of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and other Serbian state and non-state actors “can only be described as interference in Kosovo’s local election process.”
“Promises of jobs, the lure of financial support, conditioning and blackmail through social benefits, and public statements by Serbian officials claiming that only the Serb List protects Serbia in Kosovo — as recently stated by former Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, and by President Vučić himself — are repeated methods of Serbia’s interference in Kosovo,” Kurti declared.
He called on the European Union to sanction Serbia for these actions.
Vučić Promises New Jobs in Kosovo
Over the weekend, Vučić told Serbian media:
“We will open 400 new jobs within the healthcare structure in Kosovo. This is something very significant for Kosovo, and we will do it within the next ten days so that people know we will always take care of them.”
Both Vučić and other Serbian officials have also urged Serbs in Kosovo to vote for the Serb List, the main Serbian political party in Kosovo that enjoys official support from Belgrade.
Previous Accusations of Election Interference
Serbia was also accused of interfering in Kosovo’s general elections earlier this year, in February.
The EU election observation mission stated at the time that Serbia had influenced the vote by pressuring Serb voters in Kosovo.
Similarly, Germany accused Serbia of interference in the February 9 elections in Kosovo.
In the upcoming October 12 elections, the Serb List is expected to regain control of the Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. Four other Serbian parties and several citizen initiatives are also contesting the vote.
Background: The Serb-Majority Municipalities in the North
The four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo — North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan, and Zubin Potok — are currently led by Albanian mayors, after all representatives of the Serb List resigned from Kosovo’s institutions in November 2022, in protest against the government’s decision to remove Serbian license plates from vehicles.
At the request of the Serb List, Serbs in these municipalities boycotted the April 2023 elections, when the Albanian mayors were elected. The following year, the same community also boycotted the vote to dismiss those mayors.
Serbia continues to allocate state budget funds for members of the Serb community in Kosovo, including salaries, pensions, child benefits, and other financial aid.
