The United States has expressed deep concern over the non-certification of Serbian List – the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo – for the February 9 parliamentary elections.

This is what a spokesperson for the American Embassy in Pristina said in several answers to Radio Free Europe.

“We are concerned by the apparent inclusion of politically motivated criteria in the certification process carried out by the Central Electoral Commission. Such actions undermine the basic democratic principles for free and fair elections, and open the door to subjective political influence on the electoral process”, it was said in the reaction.

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has not certified the Serbian List, after concerns raised by representatives of the ruling party, Vetëvendosje Movement, that this party does not recognize the state of Kosovo, and does not refer to it by its official name, but as “Kosov and Metohia”.

For the certification of the Serbian List, only the chairman of the CEC, Kreshnik Radoniqi, voted against it, two members of the LVV, Sami Kurteshi and Alban Krasniqi, while the others abstained.

The USA has called on all parties that are not satisfied with the decisions of the CEC to turn to the appropriate mechanisms, such as the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Submissions (PZAP).

“The CEC has an important role in supervising the elections, to guarantee that the law is applied in a fair and impartial manner. Its responsibilities must be deeply based on legal procedures and not on political considerations”, it was said, among other things, in the reaction of the American Embassy.

The Serbian List – the party that enjoys the support of official Belgrade – has called the decision of the CEC as illegal, and said that the main statement will be made by the chairman of the party, Zlatan Ellek, on Tuesday morning.

Connoisseurs of political affairs estimate that the non-certification of this party is part of the pre-election campaign of the party in power.

The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, claimed on Monday that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, is trying to “eliminate the only opponent” in Kosovo, the Serbian List.

Serbian List has said that it will participate in the elections after a period of boycotting political processes in Kosovo.

In 2022, members of this party resigned collectively from the institutions of Kosovo, as a sign of opposition to the decisions of the Kosovo authorities for the extension of authority throughout the territory of the country.