Two parliamentary candidates from the “For Freedom, Justice and Survival” party, Slađan Nikoličević and Gordana Mihailović, have withdrawn from the race just three days before Kosovo’s snap elections, choosing instead to align themselves with the Serbian List.
The candidates justified their decision by accusing party leader Nenad Rašić of actions that, in their view, weaken the position of the Serbian community in Kosovo. Rašić’s party stated it had been prepared for such defections.
In a Facebook post, Nikoličević said he could not remain part of “something that puts the Serbian people at risk.” He sharply criticized Rašić’s inaction as a minister in Kosovo’s government, particularly regarding what he described as the failure to assist Serbs who are “unjustly imprisoned.”
At the same time, Nikoličević openly praised Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, portraying Serbia’s policies as the only safeguard for Serbs in Kosovo.
“The policy pursued by our Serbia and its President Vučić remains our only hope and shield,” he wrote.
President Aleksandar Vučić has publicly urged Kosovo Serbs to vote for the Serbian List, Rašić’s main political rival. Speaking earlier this week in Belgrade, Vučić stressed the importance of ensuring that reserved Serbian seats in Kosovo’s Assembly are held by representatives who, as he put it, serve Serbian interests rather than those of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
Kosovo’s Assembly reserves 10 seats for the Serbian community. In the February 9 elections, Nenad Rašić secured one of those seats, breaking the Serbian List’s long-standing monopoly.
The second candidate to withdraw, Gordana Mihailović, told Serbian media that she no longer believed Rašić’s politics served the interests of Kosovo Serbs, adding that Vučić’s policy guarantees their survival.
Rašić was unavailable for comment, while his party responded on Instagram by stating that the defections would strengthen rather than weaken the movement.
The development follows a similar case earlier this month, when Srećko Spasić, a mayoral candidate in Klokot, withdrew from the race and later joined the Serbian List, calling it the political family that unites Serbs in Kosovo.
