The Central Election Commission of Kosovo (CEC) has rejected allegations made by Srpska Lista regarding the composition of polling station councils and voter lists for the upcoming local elections on October 12.
Earlier on Monday, Srpska Lista – the largest Serb party in Kosovo, backed by Belgrade – accused the CEC of “political manipulation” over what it described as an “unequal composition” of polling station councils.
In response, the CEC stated that the decision on the formula for forming these councils was based on the Law on General Elections and electoral regulations, emphasizing that inclusivity was ensured to provide representation even for new political initiatives and independent candidates.
The CEC confirmed it will provide detailed explanations on the formula to the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) within the legal deadline.
Srpska Lista’s Complaints
Srpska Lista official Igor Simić argued that the party had been disadvantaged, citing examples:
- In Novo Brdo municipality, despite winning 60% of the votes in the last parliamentary elections, the party has no polling station chairpersons and is missing nine council members.
- In Parteš, where the party won around 90% of votes, Srpska Lista says it has only one chairperson out of seven polling stations.
The party also criticized the voter list, alleging a significant decrease in the number of registered voters in Leposaviq (1,500 fewer) and North Mitrovica (1,200 fewer) compared to February’s parliamentary elections.
Simić further claimed that Serb voters were removed from the voter list at the “Sveti Sava” school polling center in North Mitrovica, calling it a move that could “drastically impact election results.”
At the same time, he alleged that in Graçanica, the voter list has “drastically increased” with over 2,000 new voters compared to February.
CEC’s Clarification
The CEC responded that the reduction of 6,770 voters compared to February’s parliamentary elections was a result of the Civil Registration Agency’s address system update, which naturally impacted voting center allocations.
It stressed that the process of cleaning voter lists – including the removal of deceased persons – was conducted transparently and in full compliance with the law.
The final voter list for the October elections includes:
- 2,069,098 eligible voters in total
- 2,025,105 registered in Kosovo
- 43,993 registered to vote by mail from abroad
For these elections, the CEC will open 938 polling centers with 2,625 polling stations, while 93 political entities are certified to run: 32 political parties, 32 civic initiatives, two coalitions, and 27 independent candidates.
Kosovo last held local elections in October 2021.
