Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said that the election of two Albanian MPs to Serbia’s parliament must not mark the end of political unity among Albanian parties in the Preševo Valley, urging them to continue working together to defend minority rights and secure equal treatment.
In a video posted on Facebook, Kurti said the results of Serbia’s October 25 elections carried significance beyond the number of parliamentary seats won, given what he described as the difficult circumstances facing Albanians in Serbia.
The Albanian Coalition secured two seats in the Serbian parliament, marking the first time in six years that Albanians have been represented by more than one MP in the institution. The newly elected representatives are Shaip Kamberi and Visar Mehmeti.
Kurti said the result was achieved amid what he described as the administrative removal of Albanians from residence registers, the non-recognition of diplomas, systematic exclusion from public institutions, economic discrimination, emigration and the depopulation of Albanian communities.
“For more than two decades, Albanians have been a kind of double opposition: opposition to the government and opposition to a state that had placed itself in opposition to them,” Kurti said.
‘Unity must not end’
Kurti stressed that the cooperation between Albanian political parties should continue beyond the electoral campaign and translate into sustained efforts to protect the community’s rights.
“Unity must not end. We must understand that October 25 marks a new chapter for unity, a new quality that must continue through strong protection of rights, demands for equality and efforts to secure a dignified life in our homeland,” he said.
He described the two parliamentary mandates as both a collective achievement and a shared responsibility, adding that greater political representation also brings greater obligations.
The agreement establishing the Albanian Coalition was formally announced on September 29 at the office of Kosovo’s prime minister.
Kurti comments on Serbia’s election results
In the same video, Kurti also commented on the results of Serbia’s wider political contest, claiming that the elections marked a political defeat for the successors of former Serbian leaders Slobodan Milošević and Vojislav Šešelj.
“A quarter of a century after the defeat of Milošević and Šešelj at the beginning of the 21st century, their political successors, Vučić and Dačić, have also lost,” Kurti said.
He further claimed that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who had led the country for 12 years, had fallen from power following the defeat of his political camp by the student-backed electoral list.
Kurti’s remarks underline the importance Prishtina places on continued political coordination among Albanians in Serbia, particularly in the Preševo Valley, where minority rights, representation in public institutions and demographic decline remain longstanding concerns.
