Kosovo PM accuses Serbia of interfering in recent general elections

Kosovo’s prime minister on Sunday accused Serbia of directly intervening in the country’s recent general elections.

Serbia’s interference in the elections was an attack on Kosovo’s democracy and sovereignty, Albin Kurti told a press conference with Nenad Rasic, Kosovo’s minister for communities and returns.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic encouraged all Serbian state and non-state actors to interfere in Kosovo’s Feb. 9 elections, Kurti said.

“This intervention affected the election of Serbian and non-Serb community lawmakers, causing them to be fully under the control of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, his government, intelligence services, and organized crime networks,” he added.

Kurti also said Serbia’s state apparatus had made extraordinary efforts to pressure and threaten rival Serbian parties, including the Serbian List party, and voters from the Roma and Ashkali communities.

He pointed to how some representatives of Serbian political parties had to withdraw from the race due to threats.

“Our institutions have evidence about these incidents, but for the privacy and safety of Serbian citizens, it is not appropriate to disclose this evidence to the public,” he said.

Despite this interference, Kurti stressed that nearly 20% of Serbian voters cast their ballots for parties other than the Serbian List.

The election results showed the emergence of political pluralism among Serbs in Kosovo, he said.

Over 18,000 observers, including more than 100 officials from the European Union Election Observation Missions, monitored the election.

The mission also reported that Serbia had interfered in the election.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 – recognized by the U.S., Türkiye, and over 100 other countries – but this has never been recognized by Serbia, which still sees Kosovo as its land.

Kosovo is mostly ethnic Albanian, but its largest minority is Serb, especially in the country’s north.