Mustafi: Students’ victory in Serbia opens opportunities for the Albanians of the Valley

Ragmi Mustafi, political adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on matters concerning the Preševo Valley, says the triumph of the Student List could create new opportunities for the democratization of Serbia and improve the situation of Albanians there.

Speaking on KosovaPress’s “Interview of the Week” program, he described the result as an opportunity to begin a new political stage. However, he said, it is necessary to wait for the formation of the new government and the program it will pursue in order to understand the direction of Serbian policy.

Serbia’s early parliamentary elections on October 25, 2026, brought victory for the Student List and significantly changed the country’s political landscape. The result ended the 14-year rule of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), founded and politically led by Aleksandar Vučić.

Mustafi: Students’ victory could affect the Albanians of the Valley

Mustafi, a former chairman of the Albanian National Council in the Preševo Valley, said the Student List’s platform could serve as a basis for dialogue and for examining the objectives of the future government.

He said the victory did not prove that Serbia had completed its political transformation; in his view, it represented only one step. To see how the process will develop, the composition of the government and its program must become known.

“The platform is sufficient to begin a process with the Student List, open dialogue and understand the new government’s programmatic goals. Once the future prime minister and ministers are known, it will become clear whether they are prepared to expand the space for democracy, eradicate the criminalization and ‘de-Kosovarization’ of Serbian politics, and uphold individual freedoms. I hope that the democratization of society and governance in Serbia will open new paths in relations with the Albanians of the Preševo Valley. At the very least, the hostile and Albanophobic approach toward Albanians must be removed from the table and freed from the influence of the politics of the 1990s. This is an opportunity for the normalization of Serbia,” Mustafi said.

Mustafi also mentioned the Student List’s signals of a rapprochement with the European Union, aligning its foreign policy with the EU and imposing sanctions on Russia. He said the list had also promised good relations with neighboring countries.

Mustafi: The victory does not mean that Serbia has completed its transformation

“We are not saying that Serbia has completed its task. It has taken one step and must take another by defining its government and its program. After that, we can see the direction of Serbian policies and the opportunities that may arise for the Albanians of the Preševo Valley. The signals are that they will not pursue a pro-Russian line: they have said they will impose sanctions on Russia and align their foreign policy with the EU. They have also promised good relations with their neighbors. Now we must see how they will act. What matters is who will become prime minister and what program they will implement,” he said.

Regarding the votes won by Albanian political entities, Mustafi called the result historic and praised the unity achieved among Albanian parties. He thanked the political leaders who agreed to run together, while attributing a special role in this achievement to Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

According to preliminary data, the Albanian coalition secured around 27,670 votes, or 0.64% at the level of Serbia, translating into two seats in the Serbian Assembly. The Albanian representatives will be Shaip Kamberi from the PVD and Visar Mehmeti from the APN.

Mustafi: The Albanian result is historic; unity would have been impossible without Kurti

“According to the Albanian National Council, more than eight thousand addresses belonging to Albanians in the Preševo Valley have been deactivated. Diplomas are not recognized, Albanians are excluded from public institutions, and there is economic discrimination and the marginalization of society. Preševo and Bujanovac continue to be among the poorest and least developed municipalities in Serbia, with the highest unemployment. Under these extraordinary circumstances, the result achieved with these figures is historic. Without Prime Minister Kurti, the unification of the political entities would have been completely impossible. I thank all the leaders who found a way to unite,” Mustafi emphasized.

Mustafi also commented on the Student List’s relationship with Kosovo and the agreements reached between Serbia and Kosovo. He pointed out that the list had not presented changes to the Serbian Constitution as a campaign pledge, while some of its representatives had said that the agreements between the two countries should be discussed publicly in the Serbian Assembly.

According to Mustafi, campaign statements should be distinguished from the positions that will be taken during negotiations to form the government.

What will the Student List’s position toward Kosovo be?

“They did not run on a promise to make constitutional changes. If such changes were undertaken, Serbia’s orientation and the situation would become clear once and for all. Some representatives of the Student List have stated that the Kosovo-Serbia agreements will be reviewed publicly, specifically in Parliament. Nevertheless, what was said before the elections must be separated from the positions that will be expressed during the formation of the government and their vision for Serbia’s future,” he concluded.