Voters from Kosovo to vote in cities of Serbia

Serbia’s Republican Electoral Commission (KRZ) has registered 19 lists for the extraordinary parliamentary elections on 25 October. For voters from Kosovo, the election process will take place in Vranje, Raška, Kuršumlija and Tutin.

Citizens from Kosovo who have the right to vote in Serbian parliamentary elections will not vote within the territory of Kosovo, but at centers located in these four cities of Serbia.

According to the planned allocation, residents from eastern Kosovo and the Gjilan area will vote in Vranje. For voters from the north, Raška is mainly planned, while some voters from central Kosovo will be directed to Kuršumlija.

Voters from Peja, Prizren and their surrounding areas will exercise their right to vote in Tutin. Citizens from Zubin Potok will also vote in the same city, making them an exception to the allocation of northern voters, as they will not vote in Raška.

Vladimir Dimitrijeviq, chairman of the Republican Electoral Commission, said that the exact locations of the centers will be determined by local election commissions in cooperation with the responsible city authorities. This process must be completed no later than 7 October.

Organizing voting outside Kosovo is not a new practice. Kosovo institutions have maintained the position that Serbian elections cannot be held in Kosovo without a prior agreement between the two sides.

According to this position, voting can be organized only through an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, except in the premises of Serbia’s Liaison Office in Pristina.

This approach differs from the model used earlier, when the OSCE in Kosovo collected ballots and sent them to Serbia for counting. The practice was discontinued in 2022, and since then voters from Kosovo have participated in Serbian elections at centers located outside Kosovo.

The KRZ has also approved the plan for voting centers outside the territory of Serbia. In the previous elections, 81 centers were functional, while 93 are planned for the 25 October elections.

Among the competing entities are the coalition linked to SNS, “Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia,” the SPS list “Ivica Dačić – Stability Factor,” “Student List – Students Win,” and the opposition list “European Serbia.” One of the 19 announced lists has since withdrawn.

Several minority community representations will also be in the race. At number 17 is the “Albanian Coalition,” composed of the Party for Democratic Action, Alternative for Change, Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Albanians, Movement for Democratic Process, Movement for Reforms and Democratic Union of Albanians.

This list has been certified as a national minority list and has a total of 10 candidates. The final list of electoral entities must be made public no later than 9 October.