LVV representatives at the CEC criticize QUINT for “supporting the Serbian List”

2025-09-01 18:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

LVV representatives at the CEC criticize QUINT for “supporting the Serbian

Representatives of the Vetëvendosje Movement at the Central Election Commission have criticized the decision to certify the Serbian List for the October local elections, while Alban Krasniqi from this entity criticized the embassies of QUINT countries, saying that they have come out in defense of "criminal organizations."

Krasniqi from LVV said during the CEC meeting on September 1 that despite the final decision by the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Appeals, but also by the Supreme Court, he believes that the certification of the Serbian List for the October 12 elections will damage democracy.

"In the municipalities where the Serbian List claims to compete, there will be no democracy there. They know it from the ambassador and the EU representative, and all these others who are from QUINT, they know it very well because they themselves have stated it one after another. But, unfortunately, they are also putting themselves in defense of criminal organizations in the country for their own narrow accounts or even their political careers," said Krasniqi.

According to him, with the certification of the Serbian List, the justice institutions have failed, but the Government and security bodies have done their job.

"For me, the Serbian List continues to be a criminal organization, with the basis and dimensions of a terrorist organization, and I cannot accept it as part of the political sphere," he said.

On August 21, the CEC decided not to certify the Serbian List, the main Serb party in Kosovo that enjoys the support of official Belgrade.

At that meeting, Kurteshi and Krasniqi were vocal against the certification of the Serbian List, arguing that most of its candidates are also part of parallel Serbian structures, but they also described this party as an "extended hand" of Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? in Kosovo.

On August 24, the ECAP ordered the CEC to certify the Serbian List for the October elections, arguing that the entity had fulfilled all obligations after submitting the required documentation, including a political declaration, code of conduct, list of candidates, and candidate confirmation forms.

The CEC's decision of August 21st to not certify the Serbian List was criticized by QUINT countries and the European Union, which called on the incumbent government and political parties not to take any further steps to prevent the registration of the Serbian List for the October elections.

"I think that our institution [the CEC], the ECAP and the Supreme Court in this case have become part of a decision-making process that will seriously damage democracy, and violate the constitutional order, and it is ironic that such institutions that should be in defense, fall into contradiction and error. But, I do not think that it is an error, but a deliberate decision-making as a result of pressures, not even from ambassadors, perhaps not from diplomats who come and go here, and from their servants who come and go up and down and put pressure on a party leader, as well as officials who are assigned to work abroad and so on," said Krasniqi.

On August 29, meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejected "as inadmissible" the appeal filed by Krasniqi and the other LVV representative at the CEC, Sami Kurteshi, regarding the ECAP decision.

During the CEC meeting, Kurteshi considered the decisions of the ECAP and the Supreme Court regarding the Serbian List to be "illegal and unconstitutional".

"Furthermore, the Supreme Court has made a very big slip, it delegitimizes the CEC members who have the legal authority to vote for or against certification, it delegitimizes them for appeal, while it legitimizes the Serbian List for appeal," he said.

Even for the February general elections, LVV members had opposed the certification of the Serbian List. However, the ECAP and the Supreme Court rejected their complaints.

The Serbian List decided to run in this year's local elections, after boycotting the previous local elections, ensuring that Albanian mayors would take and hold power in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of the country from May 2023.

The Serbian List is expected to regain all four northern municipalities: North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok./ REL