Kosovo, Lista Serbe warns that it will appeal the decision of the CEC

2024-12-24 19:35:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Lista Serbe, the main entity of Kosovo Serbs, said on Tuesday that it will appeal to the Complaints Panel after the decision of the Central Election Commission the day before, which did not certify this entity to participate in the February 9 parliamentary elections. .

Officials of the Serbian List said today during a press conference that they will use all political and democratic means to overturn the decision.

"During the day we will submit a complaint to the Electoral Panel and I expect a clear decision from them to reject this senseless, anti-Serb and undemocratic decision of (Albin) Kurti", said the chairman of the Serbian List, Zlatan Elek.

He said that the decision has no legal basis and is evidence of how much Albin Kurti wants to eliminate the Serbs from these territories.

"We are aware of all the misdeeds that Albin Kurti used against the Serbian List because he sees our list as a serious opponent. For this, he has initiated procedures against all the leaders of the Serbian List, but also the directors in the public system that function within the Republic of Serbia, stressing that we are fighting against the constitutional order of Kosovo", said Mr. Elec.

On Monday, two members of the Central Election Commission voted for the certification of this list, seven abstained, while representatives of the Vetëvendosje Movement voted against, stressing that this party founded and supported by Belgrade does not recognize the state of Kosovo.

Officials of the Vetëvendosje movement said that the Serbian List has used the unconstitutional name of Kosovo and has not condemned the attacks of a year ago in Banjska and last month's attacks on the water supply channel in the north.

The chairman of the Serbian List, Zlatak Elek, said that the term "Kosovo and Metohia" is completely legal, since according to him it represents a toponym.

"And instead of long live the Republic of Kosovo, I said long live the Republic of Serbia. Here, today I am telling you clearly that, first of all, I am proud to be a Serb and proud to have said those words. I stand firmly behind every word uttered in that video clip," he said.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, through a written response to the Voice of America, said that the Serbian List is an organization, which has individuals in its ranks who have continuously committed terrorist acts and violated the constitutional order of Kosovo.

"On the other hand, the Central Election Commission is an independent constitutional institution, which decides independently. Every decision issued by the CEC must be respected, as part of the commitment to the rule of law and the preservation of institutional integrity", says the President Osmani's response.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, asked by journalists during a conference on Tuesday night in Pristina, said that no one could have expected a different position from the Vetëvendosje movement in the Central Election Commission against the Serbian List.

"When we add the terrorist attack in Banjska, Zveçan, which was carried out by the vice president of the Serbian List, Milan Radoicic, who continues to this day to be the de facto head of the Serbian List, because the exponents of the Serbian List, led by Zlatan Elek, is the chairman of the Serbian List, meet with (Milan) Radoicic in Serbia, receive instructions or rather orders from him, it is clear that our position as a Vetevendosje movement that we have the representatives in the CEC could not be otherwise and at the same time we alerted what is happening", he said.

Prime Minister Kurti said that Lista Serbe has not distanced itself from the attack in Banjska i Zveçani.

"The negative attitude, destructive actions and obstructive behavior of the Serbian List towards the Republic of Kosovo are publicly known to everyone. Unfortunately, the Serbian list represents the wide scope and high degree of Serbia's involvement in the internal affairs of Kosovo and in our democratic elections," said Prime Minister Kurti. The decision of the Central Election Commission prompted numerous reactions from international missions.

The Embassy of the United States in Pristina expressed, as it said, its deep concern regarding the actions of some members of the Central Election Commission to not certify the candidates of the Serbian List while calling it a decision motivated by politically motivated criteria. The mission in Kosovo of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that it views with concern the non-certification of the Serbian List while calling on the Central Election Commission to maintain the integrity of the process and ensure that the next steps are comprehensive and in accordance with the democratic principles.

Observers of the election process say that the office for the certification of political entities has recommended the certification of the Serbian List, which means that it has met the minimum legal criteria to be part of the elections.

The Central Election Commission has already certified 27 political subjects, of which: 19 political parties, 5 coalitions, 2 citizen initiatives and 1 independent candidate, for participation in the February 9 elections. Five of the certified entities are from the ranks of the Serbian community./ Voa