Serb residents of northern Kosovo signed a petition on Wednesday in hopes of securing enough funds to oust four ethnic Albanian mayors whose elections last year heightened tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.
In the northern cities of Mitrovica and Leposavić, groups of people could be seen heading to sports halls and other places to sign petitions. The campaign will soon be launched in Zubekan and Zubin Potok, two other municipalities in the north where the majority of Kosovo's Serb minority live.
Supporters of new local elections need signatures from at least 20% of voters.
Serbs take to the streets to accuse populist Vuceci government of election fraud
Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani, who is of ethnic Albanian background, said: “As a democratic country, we respect the rights of all our citizens, regardless of ethnicity, and such rights will be respected.'' Stated.
Ethnic Serbs overwhelmingly boycotted an April 2023 election won by an ethnic Albanian mayor, and a month later tried to prevent the mayors from being expelled from office. Demonstrators clashed with Kosovar police and then NATO peacekeepers, leaving numerous people injured on both sides.
The Kosovo flag was photographed on June 29, 2020 in the city center of Pristina, Kosovo. (Photo by Ferdi Limani/Getty Images)
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said over the summer that local elections could be rerun if supporters provided grounds that met constitutional provisions, such as petitions.
Serbian forces fought a war against ethnic Albanian separatists in the then Kosovo province in 1998-1999. Approximately 13,000 people, mostly Albanians, were killed. Kosovo finally declared independence in 2008, but the government in Belgrade does not recognize its neighbor as a separate country.
Concerned about destabilizing the Balkans as Russia's war intensifies in Ukraine, Western countries are stepping up negotiations for a normalization agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. The European Union has made it clear that such an agreement is a precondition for the accession of Kosovo and Serbia.
Kosovo's population is mostly ethnic Albanians, but a rebellious Serb minority is concentrated in the northern region bordering Serbia.
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This month, in a step toward reconciliation, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to allow the use of each other's vehicle license plates in their respective regions.
