The February 9 parliamentary elections in Kosovo are of great importance for Serbs in the country, citizens of North Mitrovica and Gracanica, their political and civil society representatives tell Radio Free Europe.
Everyone agrees that the policy of boycotting Kosovo institutions must change and that the problems of the Serbian community must be institutionalized.
Miodrag Marinković from the non-governmental organization Center for Affirmative Social Action (CASA) says that members of the Serbian community are aware that the boycott policy has failed.
According to him, there are a large number of citizens who will vote in the Kosovo elections for the first time.
"I think that this time the participation of Serbs in the Kosovo elections will be record," he says.
Dusan Radakovic, regional coordinator of Democracy in Action - a coalition of non-governmental organizations that monitors electoral processes in Kosovo - says that the February 9 elections are important for the Serb community, as they are the first not to be boycotted in the last two years.
However, he does not expect them to be easily encouraged to vote, due to all the events that have occurred since the Serbs left Kosovo's institutions.
They withdrew after a call from the Serbian List - the largest Serb party in Kosovo - in an attempt to prevent the replacement of Serbian license plates with Kosovo license plates.
But, despite this, Serbian license plates have been replaced and the Kosovo Government has taken other steps to consolidate power in the north.
Among other things, it has abolished the Serbian dinar and closed institutions that operated within the Serbian system, which Kosovo considered illegal.
Also, power in the four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo - North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq - has been taken over by Albanian mayors, because the Serb List has called for a boycott of the elections.
Bosilka from Gracanica - a municipality near Pristina - believes that the February 9 elections are important for Serbs in Kosovo, in order to elect the right political representatives, who will enable their survival.
She and her family plan to live in Kosovo, so it is important for her to create, as she says, better living conditions.
"For us who live here, elections should be important. I just want to stay and live here, I was born here and I wouldn't want to go anywhere. Therefore, it's important that we have someone to fight for," says Bosilka.
Jovica from Gracanica also believes that the upcoming elections are important for the Serb community, but emphasizes that he does not trust politicians.
"Politics disgusts me," says Jovica, but adds that he will vote, "because that's the way it should be."
Natasha from North Mitrovica says that Serbs in northern Kosovo have been “destroyed” in the last two years. She is not sure whether the political representatives who will be elected will fulfill their promises.
"Honestly, I don't know what to expect. But, definitely, the elections will affect my life and my decision whether or not to stay here... because with this repression that we are experiencing, every day we wonder what the police with long guns are doing here, while we walk around with children. We really don't need such a life," says Natasha.
Kosovo authorities have increased police presence in the north, as Serbs have abandoned institutions and tensions have increased.
They culminated when an armed group of Serbs attacked the Kosovo police in the village of Banjska, Zvecan , in September 2023, and killed a policeman.
Millena from North Mitrovica believes that "ending the policy of boycotting Kosovo institutions is a tactic at an inappropriate time."
"There probably won't be any change," she says.
The Serbian List did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions about the importance of the February 9 parliamentary elections, but its leaders have consistently said that it is important for this party to win all ten parliamentary seats in the Kosovo Assembly, reserved by the Constitution for the Serb community.
Senior Serbian officials, including President Aleksandar Vučić, are also speaking about the importance of the Serbian List's victory, while the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia is committed to "mobilizing" people displaced from Kosovo to Serbia to vote in the Kosovo elections.
Nenad Rashic, leader of the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival and Minister for Communities and Returns in the current Government of Kosovo, tells Radio Free Europe that coexistence is the basic parameter of the party's further actions.
For this reason, according to him, the upcoming elections are very important, because, as he says, there is no other choice but to cooperate with those who are currently available.
"These are the mechanisms that practically represent the executive power, or the practical power on the ground. You may want to work in the institutions of the Republic of Serbia, but when it comes to getting a permit to build a house, you have to go to a municipality in Kosovo. Therefore, it is not a question of whether someone likes it or not, wants it or not... it is a necessity for all those who are thinking of living in Kosovo," says Rašić.
Millija Biševac from the Serbian People's Movement says the upcoming elections in Kosovo are of vital importance because "our people have never been in a more difficult situation in the post-war period."
According to him, Serbian institutions in Kosovo are almost non-existent and those of Kosovo are the only ones through which Serbs can fight for their rights, guaranteed by Kosovo laws.
"Citizens know who is responsible for something like this. It is important that in these elections they elect their representatives, who will speak on their behalf about the ongoing problems. Our fundamental rights have been eroded for years, while those who have represented us before have been silent about this," Biševac tells Radio Free Europe.
For the past ten years, all ten guaranteed parliamentary seats in the Kosovo Assembly have been held by the Serb List. However, for the past two years, Serb MPs, in accordance with the "boycott policy", have gone to the Assembly every six months to sign and, in this way, have not lost their mandates and salaries.
Biševac says that we should no longer remain silent about decisions by central authorities that harm the interests of the Serbian community.
In addition to his party, Rašić's and the Serbian List, other parties from the Serbian community will also participate in the February 9 elections: Serbian Democracy, the Party of Kosovo Serbs and the Civic Initiative People's Justice.
Radakovic from Democracy in Action and Marinkovic from the Center for Affirmative Social Action say that the February 9 elections are important for Serbs because they will end the boycott of Kosovo's institutions.
According to them, the rights and interests of Serbs can best be protected through participation in institutions.
"It is important that the Serbian community fight more for its rights. We have been in a bit of a mess. Not enough has been fought for the rights of Serbs that are guaranteed by the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo," says Radakovic.
"This time it seems that we will have pluralism in the political representation of Serbs [at the central level]. I see this as good democratic progress. I hope that, after the elections, there will be enough wisdom and responsibility to agree on a platform of minimal interests of Serbs," says Marinković on the other hand.
He emphasizes that the participation of Serbs in the elections is also important to preserve the parliamentary mandates reserved for the Serb community, which are crucial for the adoption of important laws in the Kosovo Assembly.
Constitutional changes in Kosovo, for example, are not possible without the support of two-thirds of the votes of the deputies of the minority communities. This means that a possible change to the Constitution of Kosovo would require at least seven votes from the deputies of the Serb community./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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