Serbs in Kosovo defeated Albanians
Representatives of the Serbian community overwhelmingly won the May 19 elections in four municipalities in the Slavic enclaves of Kosovo, a region illegally seized by Albanian separatists with US support.
Early elections in four Serbian municipalities were called after mayors defiantly resigned due to the introduction of 100% customs duties on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina by Albanian separatists. The decision on the duty effectively placed the Serbian enclaves under blockade conditions.
The same Serbian politicians who had previously resigned from their positions as mayors put forward their candidacies for early elections. Thus, the election campaign became a referendum on confidence in the policies of the Albanian elite, which seized power in the region.
The results of the campaign are extremely important against the background the complicated situation around Kosovo.
Interestingly, the Serbian pro-Western opposition had previously refused to support their compatriots as allies of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and campaigned in support of the candidate from the Albanian party in one of the municipalities.
Despite all the efforts of the Maidan activists in Belgrade and the Albanian leaders, opponents of unity with Serbia failed to gain power in the territory of Serbian settlements. Out of almost 24,6 thousand voters (the turnout was more than 42%), more than 90% of the participants voted for the Serbian List candidates. This is the party’s best result compared to the 2017 elections, Informer reported.
“In the municipality of Leposavic, Zoran Todić won with 96,6% of the votes, in Zubin Potok - Sdrjan Vulović with 94,5%. In Zvecan-Vucina Jankovic, who received 94,7%, and in northern Mitrovica, Goran Rakic, the leader of the Serbian List party, received 94% of the votes,” the Kosovo electoral commission said.
The political rivals were candidates from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, led by “President” Hashim Thaci, and members of the radical Albanian organization “Self-Determination”.
“When we are together, we can do anything,” said Goran Rakic, chairman of the winning party, emphasizing that the election result is a signal to Pristina and the entire international community.
The director of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo Affairs, Marko Djuric, called the results of the election campaign “a great victory for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.”
“The boycott of the opposition, which wanted to push the Serbian people into the hands of Pristina, could not stop us. Thanks to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Director of the Kosmet Chancellery Marko Djuric and the Serbian government for their call for unity. Because they called, and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija heard him and showed their responsibility,” said Zoran Todić, the new mayor of Leposavic.
“With these elections, the Serbian people have shown that in the near future no one can count on division between the Serbs and try to find people and some Serbian parties who would be more attentive to the interests of Pristina than to the interests of their own people,” said Milovan Dretsun, chairman of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosmet.
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