The decision by Albanian political parties in Serbia to unite on a single list for the October 25 elections is an important development for political representation and the protection of Albanians’ rights, according to Gurakuq Kuçi, a researcher at the Octopus Institute.
Kuçi expresses concern about what he calls the administrative erasure of Albanians as an ethnic group. He cites the deactivation of residential addresses, difficulties finding employment and barriers to education, which he says affect Albanians’ political and social standing in Serbia.
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He says running on a joint list could help Albanians reorganize politically and prevent their vote from being split. According to Kuçi, the joint list clears the 3 percent threshold, creating a realistic possibility that their representation will not be limited to one member of parliament.
Kuçi describes the unification of Albanian political forces as very good news, while alleging that Serbia is using various means to reduce the Albanian presence. Alongside the deactivation of addresses, he cites a lack of suitable employment and education opportunities and, he says, efforts to give Serbs state positions and roles in areas inhabited by Albanians.
According to Kuçi, Albanians in the Valley are showing greater engagement ahead of Sunday’s elections. He says political unity has brought a new spirit in which political disagreement is seen as cooperation for well-being, stability and the advancement of rights, rather than hostility among Albanians.
Kuçi adds that the process has mobilized Albanians living in Kosovo, the diaspora and Serbia. He hopes that engagement will continue on election day.
On the deactivation of addresses in the Valley, he says the new Albanian member or members of parliament should engage with the United States and the European Union, as well as the governments of Kosovo and Albania.
According to Kuçi, representatives in Serbia’s parliament should establish contacts with international institutions and build a lobbying network for the rights of Albanians in the Preševo Valley and other parts of Serbia where Albanians live. He also calls for close cooperation with Pristina and Tirana to protect Albanians’ rights and counter what he describes as false Serbian propaganda.
Kuçi says that, according to the Albanian group in the area itself, Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, helped bring about reconciliation among Albanians. He also names the Islamic Community of Kosovo, nongovernmental organizations and influential intellectuals in the area as contributors to the process.
He notes that Albanian mobilization has also been driven by a desire to respond to the deactivation of addresses. However, Kuçi criticizes the lack of media coverage of the elections and the joint list, as well as what he sees as widespread indifference in Kosovo toward the vote, despite ongoing discussions about the future of Kosovo and Albanians.
University professor Dorajet Imeri says Albanian participation in the Serbian elections could strengthen their voice in the country’s legislature.
Imeri says the oppression of Albanians in the Preševo Valley has continued for years and has intensified recently, particularly through the deactivation of addresses. According to him, this is one of the main reasons Albanians have decided to run on a joint list, which he sees as one of their few political opportunities to influence the election result.
He describes Kosovo’s political involvement in this effort as welcome but belated and unprecedented. Imeri urges Albanians in the area to turn out in large numbers, emphasizing that high participation could affect the final result and give them greater representation in Serbia’s parliament.
According to Imeri, the priority is for Albanians to preserve their existence and presence in Serbia, where he says they face political and systematic persecution. He says Kosovo and Albania should do everything they can to support the voice of Albanians in Serbia’s parliament and bring the issue to international attention.
Imeri describes the Albanians of the Preševo Valley as the most oppressed minority in Europe and calls for the voices of Kosovo and Albania to be heard at the forums, meetings and events of world politics in which they take part. He singles out the European Union as an important player and says Kosovo should do everything it can on this issue.
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s president, Justina Shiroka-Pula, has called on Albanians from Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac who live in Kosovo to turn out in large numbers for Serbia’s early parliamentary elections, which will be held on Sunday, October 25.
