The Assembly is holding an extraordinary session to elect the new government, while representatives of the Serb List have also joined members of the Vetëvendosje Movement in the plenary hall.

Serb List MPs were seen entering the hall, where the formation of the Kurti 4 government is expected to be put to a vote.

So far, no LDK or PDK MPs have been seen at the session. The latter has announced that it will not take part in the session on forming the government.

Meanwhile, parliamentary proceedings are continuing as they await the start of the vote on the new government.

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LVV MP Mefail Bajqinovci has commented on Serb List’s decision to stop using the phrase “on behalf of the Serbian people” during its statements in the Assembly.

According to him, the move represents a retreat from “unconstitutional language.” Bajqinovci stressed that representatives of Serb List should understand that they are part of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo.

“Serb List has abandoned unconstitutional language.

You can see how well things work when it is disciplined and clearly told that it is in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, not Serbia’s,” Bajqinovci wrote.

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Minister of Justice Donika Gërvalla has spoken out against the candidacy proposed by the Serb List for the post of deputy speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, describing it as “scandalous and unacceptable”.

According to Gërvalla, Kosovo is home to the Serb community, not the “Serbian people”. She also stated that the elections of the “Serbian people” are held in Serbia, referring to the electoral process of October 25, reports “Bota sot”.

“The Serb List’s proposal for deputy speaker of the Assembly is scandalous and unacceptable,” Gërvalla wrote.

She added: “There is no Serbian people in Kosovo, but only a Serbian community. The Serbian people hold their elections in Serbia, on October 25.”

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The main bridge over the Ibër River in Mitrovica, which connects the southern and northern parts of the city, has for years been considered one of the most sensitive symbols of inter-ethnic division in Kosovo. Although pedestrians can cross it, vehicle traffic has remained impossible for years. The bridge’s opening has also been discussed במסגרת the dialogue mediated by the European Union.

Security analyst Dorajet Imeri describes the Serb List’s opposition to the bridge’s opening as paradoxical and illogical. According to him, the party’s position contradicts the normalization of relations and the region’s goal of integration into the European Union, which also entails removing barriers between states and citizens.

The Serb List opposed the bridge’s opening after Brussels announced that the security conditions for such a move had been created. In a letter sent to the EU Office in Pristina, the party requested the publication of the security analysis on which the decision was based. It also expressed doubts about the role of the Kosovo Police in protecting Serbs.

The party, which Imeri describes as a representative of Belgrade and its narratives in Kosovo, has stated that opening the bridge without the participation and approval of the Serbian side in the Brussels dialogue calls into question the process itself and the agreements reached there. The Serb List has also asked the European Union to clarify responsibility in the event of any incident or deterioration in the security situation, although following the withdrawal of KFOR it has been made clear that security in this area will be the responsibility of the Kosovo Police.

Speaking to KosovaPress, political analyst Dorajet Imeri said that the problem does not lie in opening the bridge, but in the attempt to keep it as an obstacle between citizens.

“There is a political contradiction that must be emphasized. If the future of the region is linked to integration into the European Union, the normalization of relations and the gradual elimination of barriers between peoples and citizens, then there can be no justification for demanding that a bridge remain a symbol of division. One cannot speak of normalization in Brussels while simultaneously opposing freedom of movement on the ground, one of the key principles of the European idea. In this way, the Serb List is seeking to preserve and erect barriers between citizens,” Imeri told KosovaPress.

According to him, the Ibër Bridge should be viewed as public infrastructure available to all citizens, regardless of ethnic affiliation. The issue, he added, should not be treated as a political or ethnic confrontation over ownership of the bridge, but as a matter related to freedom of movement, communication and integration.

“Mitrovica’s main bridge is, above all, a public space and infrastructure that should serve citizens. It is not the property of Albanians, Serbs, any party or government, but belongs to the citizens of Kosovo, regardless of ethnicity. Its function should be to enable movement, communication and integration. This is precisely where the Serb List’s paradox becomes apparent: an entity that claims to defend the Serbian community must explain how keeping the bridge closed improves the life, security or future of this community. This is completely paradoxical and illogical, because the bridge should serve the movement, security and well-being of people—objectives that every political entity should have, apparently with the exception of the Serb List,” Imeri stressed.

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NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, has announced that it has begun the process of gradually changing its permanent presence on the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica.

According to KFOR’s response to Radio Free Europe, the decision is linked to an assessment that the security situation in Kosovo has improved. The mission considers the move part of an effort to optimize the positioning of its forces.

The process, it explained, will be carried out gradually and will depend on conditions on the ground. KFOR said it is coordinating the process with all relevant stakeholders, including Kosovo’s institutions, international organizations, the Kosovo Police and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX).

According to KFOR, the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilović, has also been regularly briefed on developments surrounding the process.

The NATO mission has said that its personnel are positioned to respond to any significant developments, in accordance with its longstanding UN mandate.

KFOR also stressed that it will maintain a visible presence in both southern and northern Mitrovica, as well as in northern Kosovo, to help preserve a safe environment for all communities.

Earlier the same day, KFOR also announced the start of the Kosovo Police’s gradual integration into the mission’s security framework at the Visoki Dečani Monastery.

The Kosovo Police has not yet responded to questions from Radio Free Europe about whether its officers have been deployed on the Ibar Bridge and whether they will remain there after KFOR troops leave.

The Serb List, the main political party representing Kosovo Serbs, has opposed any withdrawal or reduction of KFOR’s presence on the main bridge over the Ibar.

The party announced that it had requested an urgent meeting with KFOR Commander Major General Özkan Ulutaş to present the concerns of the Serb community in the north and demand that the measure’s implementation be halted.

According to the Serb List, decisions on the presence of security forces in the area should be made carefully, given the political and security situation and the tensions that have affected the area around the bridge in the past.

The party claimed that the Kosovo Police had failed to earn the trust of Serbs in the north, while describing KFOR’s presence on the bridge as an important element of stability.

The Serb List called on KFOR to maintain an appropriate presence on the main bridge and continue its commitment to security and stability.

The bridge connecting South Mitrovica, where most residents are Albanian, with North Mitrovica, where the majority are Serb, currently remains open only to pedestrians. It has repeatedly been a flashpoint for ethnic tensions.

Since the end of the war in 1999, the bridge has been continuously guarded by KFOR forces.

In July 2024, the Kosovo government announced plans to open the bridge to vehicle traffic. The announcement triggered tensions and reactions from the international community.

Kosovo and Serbia agreed to open the bridge to traffic in 2014 as part of the dialogue to normalize relations. The agreement provided for the bridge’s reconstruction and the removal of all barricades erected by local Serbs.

Following disagreements over how previous agreements should be interpreted, the parties agreed on a new implementation plan in 2016, under which the bridge was to be opened to vehicles in January 2017.

Work to revitalize the bridge was completed in June 2018. Despite an investment of approximately 1.5 million euros, it was never opened to vehicle traffic and continued to serve pedestrians only.

Near the main bridge, the Kosovo government has also built two other bridges, one for pedestrians and one for vehicles. They are intended to connect North and South Mitrovica in a city that has remained divided along ethnic lines since the war.

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Serb List has asked Kosovo’s Constitutional Court to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision concerning the allocation of a seat reserved for the Serb community, which was won by Nenad Rašić.

In its petition, the party asks the Constitutional Court to determine whether the purpose of reserved seats is respected in cases where votes from citizens who are not members of the community influence the selection of Serb representatives.

According to Serb List, the judicial and electoral institutions have failed to ensure constitutional protection for the seats guaranteed to non-majority communities.

The party maintains that reserved seats are not merely formal privileges, but constitutional guarantees intended to ensure the authentic representation of communities.

On July 7, the Supreme Court rejected Serb List’s appeal, which alleged that Nenad Rašić’s political party had won the guaranteed seat primarily through votes secured in Albanian-majority municipalities.

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