A new Serbian political party is on the horizon in Kosovo, aiming to represent Serbian interests in both northern and southern areas along the Ibar River.

This party, known as the Serbian People’s Movement, emerges as an alternative to the Serb List, which has long enjoyed the support of Belgrade and has been the dominant political option for Serbs in Kosovo.

Branimir Stojanović, a political activist from south Kosovo, and Milia Biševać from the north, are the founders of the Serbian People’s Movement.

Their goal is to build a more rational and inclusive political organization that genuinely represents the interests of people across Serbian communities in Kosovo.

While Stojanović refrained from disclosing the names of other key figures in this movement, he hinted at the involvement of both experienced political figures and newcomers.

One of the founders of the Serb List was Branimir Stojanović, who, after leaving the party, became its “opponent and critic”. As Stojanović himself stated, he departed from the Serb List because he no longer agreed with their policies.

In the local elections in Kosovo in 2021, he was an independent candidate for the mayor of Graçanica, a Serbian-majority municipality near Pristina.

In that same year, Milia Biševać participated in the elections in Zubin Potok in north Kosovo with his Citizens’ Initiative for Zubin Potok, and entered the Municipal Assembly as a councilor.

“We want to offer an alternative, to show how it should be, not just to be against something but to be in the interest of the common people,” Stojanović said.

The Serb List is set to convene for a party assembly. This comes in the wake of the resignation of Milan Radojičić, the former vice-president of the Serb List, who took responsibility for the attack on Kosovo Police in Banjska, near Zvecan.

Notably, the Serb List has not distanced itself from Radojičić, and the party’s response to his resignation remains pending.

Despite the emergence of new political options for Kosovo’s Serbian community, Branimir Stojanović believes that any changes within the Serb List will be largely superficial and will not address fundamental issues.

He contends that such changes amount to a cosmetic transformation of a corrupt mechanism that is difficult to alter.

As the Serbian political landscape in Kosovo evolves, cooperation between these emerging alternatives and Belgrade is critical.

Miodrag Marinković from the Center for Social Affirmative Actions emphasizes the importance of unified stances in protecting the interests of the Serbian community.

He also notes that any new political option would need Belgrade’s support to be effective, as the Serb List continues to play a significant role, thanks to backing from Belgrade and mechanisms that influence voters.

While new political options may provide more choices for Kosovo’s Serbian community, their success in gaining Belgrade’s support and addressing the community’s concerns will be a crucial factor in their long-term influence.

Otherwise, the announcement of extraordinary local elections in north Kosovo is anticipated with the plan of de-escalating the situation, after Albanian mayors took office in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok. The elected mayors of these municipalities are not recognized by the local Serbian population, which boycotted the April elections.

The Serb List, which initially called for the elections to be boycotted, announced on October 13 that it is ready to participate.