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The Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo, North Mitrovica, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, voted to withdraw from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities on Friday, as they want to be part of a separate association of Serb-majority municipalities in the country.
This is the second time they have voted to do so, following the vote on December 18 last year.
But the December vote was declared illegal by the acting Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, due to procedural irregularities, as, among other things, the proposal was made by the mayors of municipalities. “This practice contradicts the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 47.2), which stipulates that only members of the assembly have the right to request the addition of items to the agenda during the session, and only for urgent matters of public importance,” Krasniqi wrote on Facebook after the December vote.
He criticized the Serbian List for aiming to "incite divisions between communities, discord, mistrust and tensions, showing a lack of willingness to cooperate with other municipalities within the framework of the Association" with this vote.
Friday's new decision must be sent to the Ministry of Local Government Administration for approval, as it is the main supervisory body of municipalities.
North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok were led by Albanian mayors from May 2023 until the October 2025 elections, after the representatives of the Serbian List resigned in November 2022, as part of the joint initiative of Serbs to abandon Kosovo institutions in protest against the decisions of the Kosovo Government.
Under the leadership of Albanian mayors, these municipalities joined the Association of Kosovo Municipalities in the summer of 2023.
This association operates as a non-governmental organization with the aim of exchanging experiences and protecting the interests of its members.
The Serbian List had at that time opposed the membership of municipalities with a Serb majority in it, assessing that the decision was not made "in the interest of the citizens and was illegal."
At that time, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, also reacted, assessing that municipalities with a Serb majority should be part of an association of municipalities with a Serb majority, the establishment of which Kosovo and Serbia agreed several times during their dialogue under the mediation of the European Union.
Kosovo has not taken steps to establish this association, despite pressure from the international community./ REL
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