Voters are set to elect new mayors in the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq and new municipal councils in Zvecan and Leposaviq. The Serb List party, whose candidates previously were in majority in the municipalities’ councils and executive bodies, called for boycotting the elections citing pressure and provocations from the Kosovo authorities and enjoyed far-reaching public support in this cause, the local news portal reported.
While over 45,000 people are eligible to vote in the north of Serbia's former region, whose independence Belgrade never recognized, just under 2% of them are ethnic Albanians, which further fuels expectations of extremely low turnout.
The Kosovo authorities set up 19 special metal cabins near police stations and along highways where the residents can cast their ballots starting 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. (05:00–17:00 GMT). A total of 357 observers from political movements, foreign embassies and missions, media and non-government organizations are reportedly monitoring the elections.
The streets in the four municipalities are particularly deserted and only police officers could be seen standing outside the voting cabins, along with NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) vehicles and reporters, the report said. Meanwhile, police barred observers and journalists from entering some polling places.
The election commission in Pristina registered 10 candidates for the mayors’ posts in the four municipalities, including those from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, founded by former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who is now on trial in The Hague for war crimes committed in 1998-1999, the Self-determination movement of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Mitrovica Civic Initiative. The only ethnic Serb among them is independent candidate Sladjana Pantovic, who is running for the seat of Zvecan mayor. The news outlet said she voted early in the morning, briefly spoke to the media and then departed in a private car guarded by the police.
On Saturday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters, when asked about what he expected after the Kosovo elections, that "there would be a total occupation, which people are already ready for and used to."
Vucic, at a meeting with Kosovo Serbs on April 13, supported the boycott and said that the new elected authorities in northern Kosovo "will not be legitimate because they will be formed by Albanians, who amount to 2% there." On Friday night, he called the upcoming vote "a disgrace to the West and democracy," directing particular criticism to the metal cabins where people are supposed to vote.
The Serbian president pointed out that the boycott of the elections should be pinned not only on Pristina but also on the European Union, the guarantor of the 2013 Brussels Agreement on forming the Community of Serb Municipalities with autonomous rights from 10 Serb-inhabited municipalities. Vucic opined that after Albanians win the municipal elections in the north of Kosovo, they will refuse to participate in forming the Community of Serb Municipalities.