Kosovo’s Election Appeals Authority overturns ban on Serbian List

Kosovo’s Election Appeals Body overturned, on Wednesday, a ban that had been placed on the Serbian List, the largest political party representing the Serbian minority in Kosovo. The party is thus allowed to field candidates in the February 9 parliamentary elections.

Context: The Serbian List, which has been a dominant force among the ethnic Serbian population of Kosovo, was initially banned by the Central Election Commission (CEC) earlier this week.

The CEC justified the move by pointing to the party’s nationalist stance and close ties to Serbia.

The ban was seen by many as a significant blow to the representation of Kosovo’s Serbian community in the country’s institutions.

The US embassy in Kosovo stated that the decision of the Central Election Commission not to certify the Srpska Lista candidates “undermines the fundamental democratic principles of free and fair elections” .

The Serbian List’s return to the political scene means that Kosovo’s Serbs will maintain their representation in Kosovo’s institutions. However, the issue of the Serbian List’s connections with Belgrade remains a contentious one, with critics arguing that the party’s actions are heavily influenced by Serbia’s government, undermining Kosovo’s sovereignty and stability

On 24 September 2023, the party’s vice-president Milan Radoičić led an attack against the Kosovo Police in Banjska, which resulted in one policeman and three militants of Radoičić’s group getting killed. Radoičić resigned from the party after admitting that he had organized the attack.