On March 4th, the Serbian President dissolved the parliament and called early parliamentary elections in Serbia. Serbian state institutions stated that parliamentary elections will be organised in Kosovo as well. The Government of the Republic of Kosovo has not taken a specific decision on this matter with Prime Minister Isa Mustafa stating that there will be no classical elections in Kosovo. Instead, he said, there will be a collection of votes from Kosovo with facilitation by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, which has not yet been confirmed by OSCE. He also stated that this is a right the Serb citizens of Kosovo are entitled to according to their constitutional rights on double citizenship.

While there is still a sense of uncertainty about how parliamentary elections called in Serbia will be organized in Kosovo, the pre-election campaign is in full swing in Kosovo. An intensive campaign is being organized luring voters in Kosovo. Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vučić recently visited several municipalities in northern Kosovo where he campaigned for himself and the party he leads the Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS). Following on his footsteps, caretaker Foreign Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, also visited Kosovo. He portrayed the visit as a “visit to cultural shrines”, but nevertheless used the opportunity for campaigning and canvasing with voters. There has been other campaigning from other parties as well. The following is an update on the Serbian parliamentary elections and developments surrounding their announced organization in Kosovo and the possible implications that these may have for the political life of the Serb community in Kosovo and on Kosovo’s political development in general.

Click here for the full Kosovo Communities Issues Monitor in English, Albanian, and Serbian.

[1]http://www.gazetaexpress.com/lajme/vendvotimet-e-serbise-ne-kosove-mustafa-i-quan-qendra-te-grumbullimit-188191/ 

[2] http://www.oranews.tv/rajoni/dacic-neser-viziton-trashegimine-kulturore-serbe-ne-kosove/

On 31 March, in Gračanica/Graçanicë ECMI Kosovo held a final conference for the project “Diversity is Opportunity: Promoting Tolerance as a Means of Reconciliation and Democratization”, funded by the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo. In this conference, ECMI Kosovo presented the activities that were developed throughout this project as well as the results achieved. Participants had the chance to express their opinions and talk about their experiences during this project. Furthermore, a booklet that contains a photo reportage that participants took was also presented during the conference.

ECMI Kosovo would like to thank the participants for making this project successful and also the U.S. Embassy for contributing to this success.

Please click here to see the booklet presented at the conference

Në prag të shtatëmbëdhjetë vjetorit të përfundimit të luftës ’98-‘99, shoqëria kosovare ende përballet me dilemën rreth ngjarjeve që kanë ndodhur gjatë asaj lufte. Në mungesë të ballafaqimit me të kaluarën marrëdhëniet në rajon janë ende të tendosura, duke mos bashkëpunuar qoftë në aspektin politik apo ekonomik.

Teuta Hoxha, anëtare e Koalicionit “Të Drejta të Barabarta për të Gjithë” shpjegon më shumë në artikullin e saj arsyet e shënimi të datës 24 Mars, Ditën Ndërkombëtare të së Drejtës për të Vërtetën lidhur me shkeljet e rënda të të drejtave të njeriut dhe për dinjitetin e viktimave. Artikullin e plotë mund ta gjeni më poshtë:

The long-awaited decision of the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the Principles and Main Elements of the 25 August 2015 agreement between Kosovo and Serbia—particularly as it relates to the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities—made it evident there is still much to be done to anchor the Association/Community on solid legal footing.

Throughout 2015, ECMI Kosovo has regularly reported on development affecting communities in Kosovo through its Kosovo Communities Issues Monitor. An important part of our attention went out to the Association/Community of Serb Majority Municipalities. Therefore it is appropriate to devote the final issue of the Monitor for 2015 to the Association and argue for a shift in the discussion. Up to now, the discussion has mainly revolved around obligations stemming from the existing legislation or international agreements. The existing legislation, the Dialogue, and international agreements, however, establish a framework, but don’t predetermine the competences and functioning of the Association. In fact, earlier agreements on the Association leave open many outstanding issues. These should be clarified through an inclusive and careful discussion, which should focus on the question how services in the fields of own or enhanced competencies in Serb-majority municipalities could be carried out in a more efficient and transparent manner through inter-municipal cooperation. Only if there is a clear view on how inter-municipal cooperation between Serb-majority municipalities can improve the provision of municipal services, can we determine how to best frame the way the Association should function and determine its competences.

The Constitutional Court approved the request made by President Jahjaga to interpret the compatibility of the 25 August agreement with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and suspend all activities produced by the Agreement until it reached a decision. Our newest contribution to the Kosovo Communities Issues Monitor looks into the request and argues that any ruling on the Principles would be speculative in nature at this stage, as the full details on the Statute have not been drafted yet. Further, while a constitutional court review was foreseen for the final agreement, this early involvement of the constitutional court in the process was not foreseen and it is yet unknown what effect it will have on the overall dialogue process.

This is yet another delay caused by over-optimistic deadlines that return to discredit the Dialogue and the confidence of all side in the dialogue process, especially of the Kosovo Serb community that has made the request for the establishment of Association a central point of their political engagement with the Kosovo institutions. At the least, we argue, the decision of the Constitutional Court and the suspension should allow the Kosovo Government – including the representatives of the Kosovo Serb community – and opposition to engage in an inclusive discussion on the competencies and functioning of the Association.

See more for the full Kosovo Communities Issues Monitor: