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.

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[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/