For the first time since its establishment in 2013, the Serbian List might not retain all ten reserved seats for the Serbian community in the Kosovo Assembly, as preliminary results from the Central Election Commission suggest that one parliamentary seat could go to Nenad Rašić, leader of the Party for Freedom, Justice, and Survival.
Rašić, in the last two years, served as Minister for Communities and Returns in Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government, after the Serbian List withdrew from Kosovo’s institutions.
With 93% of votes counted from the February 9 elections, the Serbian List – the largest Serbian party in Kosovo, which enjoys full support from official Belgrade – secured around 30,485 votes, or 3.88% of the total. Meanwhile, the Party for Freedom, Justice, and Survival gained about 3,428 votes, or 0.44%.
Based on the current results, the Serbian List lost nearly 15,000 supporters compared to the 2021 parliamentary elections.
On the other hand, Rašić increased his support by around 2,000 votes.
However, the situation might change after counting the conditional votes, as these mainly come from displaced persons who went to vote in Kosovo under the organization of the Refugee Commissariat of the Republic of Serbia and the Kosovo Office in the Serbian Government.
Other political subjects from the Serbian community that participated in the February 9 elections will not enter the Kosovo Assembly.
Aleksandar Arsenijević’s Democratic Serbia party received about 1,700 votes, Branimir Stojanović’s People’s Movement of Serbia received about 1,405 votes, the Citizens’ Initiative for Popular Justice received about 597 votes, and the Kosovo Serb Party received 348 votes.
Serbian List thanks “one person” in particular
Zlatan Ellek, the leader of the Serbian List, declared an “absolute and convincing victory” for his party on February 9, emphasizing that it won all 10 parliamentary seats reserved for the Serbian community.
According to him, the Serbian List received over 40,000 votes.
He thanked Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for his support, as well as the displaced persons who came from Serbia to vote, but in the end, attributed the merit for the “great victory” to one person in particular.
“This is also a victory for all those Serbs, brothers and sisters who are not in Kosovo and Metohija today, and who contributed to this great victory – especially one of them,” said Ellek.
This public statement was understood to allude to Milan Radoičić, who is believed to be free in Serbia since the 2023 attack in Banjska.
Radoičić claimed responsibility for the armed attack in this Zvečan village, in which a Kosovar police officer was killed, and later resigned as the vice-chairman of the Serbian List.
Kosovo considers this attack as terrorism and believes the Serbian state is behind it – a claim that official Belgrade denies.
Rašić: Belgrade has always been “aggressive” toward Serbs in Kosovo
Nenad Rašić, the leader of the Party for Freedom, Justice, and Survival, stated on February 9 that, according to his data, his political option has received over 3,500 votes and that after counting all the votes, he expects to secure one or two parliamentary seats in the Kosovo Assembly.
“In any case, we have passed the 10% threshold set by the new law, and I believe the CEC has no way of ignoring this. We will wait until tomorrow, then it will be clear that our party will not only have one, but possibly more seats in the Assembly,” said Rašić in a press conference.
He also said that “from different sides, various disinformation is coming,” and that it is impossible for the Serbian List to have gained over 40,000 votes.
A few hours after the voting stations in Kosovo closed, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that the Serbian List, not counting the votes of displaced persons – i.e., conditional votes – had won about 33,000 votes.
“It is completely clear that the Serbian List won all ten seats, and it will serve as protection against further attacks from [Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin] Kurti,” Vučić wrote on his Instagram account.
In his speech after the voting stations closed, Rašić stated that Belgrade “has always been aggressive toward Serbs in Kosovo and has not allowed them to develop their political capacities.”
“By using [Serbs in Kosovo], they tried to suppress any authentic thought, any initiative that could have benefited everyone,” Rašić added.
Messages from other political representatives of Serbs in Kosovo
The leader of Democratic Serbia, Aleksandar Arsenijević, stated that he would comment on the election results once he had more information.
Branimir Stojanović from the People’s Movement of Serbia said that “they will not surrender, even though the results are disappointing.”
“The people who have chosen will have the power they have chosen,” he said, adding that the Serbian List’s governance system “seems to fit the people.”
“We understand that you don’t want to believe the reality, but no vote will give immunity to those who robbed you,” said the Citizens’ Initiative for Popular Justice.
The Kosovo Serb Party said that Serbs in Kosovo accepted the actions of the Serbian List as their rights and gave it their trust.
This party congratulated the Serbian List for the “clear victory, free and fair elections.”
“We wish the Serbs that the Serbian List rules for another 100 years,” said this party.
Since its founding in 2013, the Serbian List has won over 90% of the votes from the Serbian community in all the elections in which it has participated, but the EU Monitoring Mission has pointed out “monopolies and pressures” from its officials.
In the last two years, this party has followed a “boycott policy,” in line with its decision to withdraw from Kosovo’s institutions in the north.
It is still unclear whether, in the coming period, it will participate actively in Kosovo’s institutions or continue the boycott.
