Kamberi: Address deactivation cost us the chance to secure a third mandate

Shaip Kamberi, head of the Albanian Coalition’s list in Serbia’s parliamentary elections, said that Albanians are aiming for a second mandate, while the deactivation of addresses prevented them from securing a third.

Shortly before the polling stations closed, Kamberi reported in a live broadcast that preliminary data at 19:00 showed that 16,600 citizens had voted at 37 polling stations in Preshevo and 10,853 voters at Albanian polling stations in Bujanovac.

Speaking to the public broadcaster, he described the electoral process as generally orderly, although some minor irregularities had been recorded at the beginning of voting.

According to Kamberi, the possibility of securing a second seat is also linked to overall turnout in Serbia’s elections. He told RTK that if turnout reaches 70%, as is being discussed, more votes will be needed; if it stands at 61–65%, the chances of securing a second mandate are very real.

Kamberi said that citizens whose addresses had been deactivated had also been removed from the voter registers. According to him, this cost Albanians the third mandate they had been seeking. He described the deactivation of addresses as part of the systematic discrimination against Albanians in the Preshevo Valley and singled out Medveđa as a place where the process had affected their election results.

Nevertheless, Kamberi praised the mobilization of Albanian voters and thanked the citizens who came from Kosovo to vote. He said that the reactions from all Albanian communities during the final days of the campaign had given voters additional motivation.