CEC's disapproval of Serbian List's composition/EU expresses "serious concern"

2026-02-03 10:59:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

CEC's disapproval of Serbian List's composition/EU expresses

The European Union has expressed "serious concern" over the failure of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Kosovo to approve the final results for the Serbian List - the largest Serb party in Kosovo - from the December 28 snap parliamentary elections.

"The EU reiterates its call for the depoliticization of the work of the CEC, in line with the report of the EU Election Observation Mission, and calls on all parties to work together, in accordance with the Constitution ," the EU spokesperson said in a response to Radio Free Europe.

He added that it is important that all elected candidates are able to take up their mandates in the Kosovo Assembly. The CEC approved the final results of the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo on January 31, but not the results for the Serbian List.

The non-confirmation of nine members of the Serbian List in the upcoming Kosovo Assembly was harshly condemned by the party itself and official Belgrade. Three members of the CEC voted in favor of confirming the results, two members from the Vetëvendosje Movement voted against, while the other members abstained.

The Serbian List, a party supported by Belgrade, filed a complaint with the Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) on February 2nd regarding the CEC's decision. The Serbian List described the February 2nd decision as "illegal and discriminatory", saying it annulled more than 42,000 votes won in the parliamentary elections held on December 28th of last year.

In those elections, the Serbian List won nine out of ten seats reserved for the Serb community. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Kosovo said it was closely monitoring developments and called for compliance with international electoral standards.

"We call for transparent and comprehensive publication of election results as a means of ensuring legal certainty and equal treatment of all participants in the electoral process ," the OSCE said.

According to the CEC, in the early parliamentary elections held on December 28, the Vetëvendosje Movement of the incumbent Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, won 51.10 percent of the vote, or 57 parliamentary seats in the Kosovo Assembly.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo won 20.19 percent of the vote (22 seats), the Democratic League of Kosovo 13.24 percent (15 seats), while the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo won 5.50 percent of the vote, six seats in the Assembly.

Of the ten seats reserved for the Serb community, nine were won by the Serbian List, while one went to Nenad Raši?'s Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival.

Ten other seats are reserved for non-majority communities. The United States also criticized the CEC's decision a day earlier. The US Embassy in Pristina told Radio Free Europe that the CEC's decision is "contrary to the right of citizens to democratically elect their representatives."

"Any attempt to violate this basic principle undermines the partnership between the United States and Kosovo."

The acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, with his party, the Vetevendosje Movement, is expected to form the new Government without any problems. However, he himself admitted a day ago that a new relationship will have to be created between the government and the opposition on other major issues, such as the position of the president or the approval of international agreements. For both processes, two-thirds of the votes must be secured. /REL