Kosovo is open to holding new elections in four Serbian municipalities in the north of the country, “but for there to be new elections we need intermediate steps”, declared Tuesday the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, after meeting in Prague with its Czech counterpart.
Riots in Kosovo broke out last week, with protests over the inauguration of mayors elected in the last municipal elections. The elections, held on April 23, were boycotted by the Kosovar population, who neither appeared on the electoral rolls nor attended the polls. For this reason, the Serbs do not recognize the legitimacy of the councilors and have been demonstrating since the 29th, when the councilors took office, in front of the official buildings.
The European Union has pressured Kosovo to call elections again. The United States, the main ally of the former Serbian province, also punished Pristina by excluding its army from a program of military exercises.
However, it does not seem that the call for elections will arrive immediately. The majority Serb party in Kosovo, Lista Srpska, has warned that it would boycott the elections again, should they be called, if two requirements are not met: the withdrawal of Kosovo’s special police units and the establishment of the Association of Serbian Municipalities. Concessions that, at this time, seem impossible to accept for the Government of Albin Kurti, who won the elections with promises to eliminate the “servility” of the previous governments towards the Serbs.
This association of Serbian municipalities would allow Belgrade to administer economic, educational and health issues of the Kosovo Serb population. For its part, Pristina, with still very limited international recognition and no presence in international organizations, fears that this body will undermine its autonomy, or that it will be a step before the Serbian annexation of some municipalities.
NATO, which remains concerned about the escalation of violence in Kosovo, announced last week the deployment of around 700 additional troops to the north of the country. The soldiers arrived on Monday to reinforce the operation of the multinational force led by NATO. About 500 Turkish soldiers make up the bulk of the reinforcements and will be “deployed in Kosovo for as long as necessary”, explained the Atlantic Alliance.
