As the local elections in Kosovo approach, Dragan Sormaz has published a strong critique of the Serb List (Lista Srpska), calling it “a noose around the neck of Kosovo Serbs” and urging voters to reject it in the October 12 elections.
In his op-ed for The Geopost, Sormaz questions whether the Serb List truly represents the interests of Kosovo Serbs or merely serves the criminal structures operating in northern Kosovo under Belgrade’s control.
According to Sormaz, while the Serb List has long benefited from Serbian state resources, its leadership has exploited the community for personal enrichment, all while the number of Serbs in Kosovo continues to decline and living conditions worsen.
He accuses the party of maintaining a political monopoly through coercion, intimidation, and manipulation of state-funded employment and aid, noting that dissenters faced job dismissals, assaults, and even acts of terror, including arson and targeted killings such as that of Oliver Ivanović.
Sormaz argues that despite these methods, Belgrade has imposed the Serb List as the “legitimate representative” of Kosovo’s Serbs, linking its survival to the normalization process between Serbia and Kosovo. He highlights the contradiction between the party’s supposed support for the Brussels Agreement and its real actions—such as forcing Serb officials to abandon Kosovo institutions, undermining that very agreement.
He also connects these developments to President Aleksandar Vučić’s strategy of dividing Kosovo’s Serb-majority north, an ambition that, according to Sormaz, resurfaced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The victims of Vučić’s failed strategy are the Serbs of northern Kosovo,” Sormaz writes, “who lost their jobs, salaries, and stability, while Serb List officials grew wealthy and powerful.”
He blames the party’s influence for a series of violent incidents, including the attack on KFOR troops in May 2023 and the Banjska terrorist assault, asserting that “those who obeyed the Serb List bear responsibility for the deaths that day.”
Sormaz concludes by urging Kosovo Serbs to vote freely and independently, choosing leaders who will promote coexistence and genuine local governance rather than serve Belgrade’s political and criminal interests.
“Serbs must choose people, not servants — not the Serb List, because it is made only of servants,” he declares.
