Na Kosovo are being held today local elections. Polling stations are open at 7:00 a.m., and voters will be able to exercise their right to vote until 7:00 p.m.
93 political subjects are participating in the elections, of which 32 are political parties, two coalitions, 32 citizens' initiatives and 27 independent candidates.
The election campaign began on September 13 and ended just before the opening of the polling stations, at 6:59 am.
According to data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Pristina, the total number of citizens with the right to vote is 2.069.098, of which 2.025.105 are in Kosovo and Metohija, and 43.993 are outside Kosovo and Metohija.
The elections will be organized in 938 polling centers with a total of 2.625 polling stations, of which 910 polling centers for regular voting with 2.571 polling stations and 38 voting centers for conditional voting with 54 polling stations.
Citizens can vote with an identity card, driver's license or passport issued by Kosovo institutions.
Two ballots will be given at the polling stations: one yellow, which is for the election of the municipal president, and the other blue, which will have the names of political subjects participating in the municipal assembly elections.
Closed polling stations
Dušan Radaković, coordinator for four municipalities in the north of Democracy in Action, an organization that monitors these elections, confirmed for "Vreme" that polling stations for local elections in Kosovo were closed at 19 p.m.
These were the first local elections after the exit of the Serbian List from the institutions.
During election day, according to CEC data, 45,84 percent of voters voted in North Mitrovica, 59,75 percent in Zvečan, which is also the highest turnout in the north during these elections. While 58,83 percent voted in Zubin Potok, Leposavic had the lowest turnout with 27,81 percent of votes.
EO: The results can be dramatic
Today, Ekonomi Online warned that the results could be "dramatic".
Three Kosovo television stations will announce exit polls at 19:00 when the polling stations close.
The authors claim that if the voting process continues like this, "perhaps half of the municipalities will go without a second round of voting, while in the others it will be a very close race."
CEC: By 17 p.m., 32,5 percent of voters had voted
By 5:00 p.m., 32.5 percent of voters in Kosovo had voted for the local elections. 94,48 percent of polling stations were processed.
The highest turnout in the north is in the municipality of Zubin Potok with 58,03 percent, and the lowest in Leposavic with 24,83 percent.
In Zvečan, the turnout so far is 55,85 percent, while in North Mitrovica it is 39,23 percent.
By 15 p.m., 25,21 percent of citizens had voted
In the local elections in Kosovo, 25,21 percent of citizens or 510.525 voters out of a total of 2.250.105 voted by 15 p.m., announced the president of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Krešnik Radonići at a press conference.
"The election process is peaceful and problem-free. So far, no irregularities have been noticed," Radonići said, adding that these data are from around 94 percent of polling stations counted.
AP: Local elections in Kosovo in an atmosphere of political tensions and strained relations with Serbia
Local elections are being held in Kosovo today, where the ruling left-wing Self-Determination Movement (Vetëvendosje!) is trying to win the post of mayor of the capital, in an atmosphere of long-term political tensions and strained relations with Serbia, writes the Associated Press (AP) today.
The agency states that the race in the capital, Pristina, is attracting the most attention, where former culture minister Hajrula Ceku from Self-Determination is challenging current mayor Perparim Rama from the conservative Democratic Union of Kosovo (DSK).
Self-determination seeks to build on its success from the February parliamentary elections, when it won 48 mandates in the assembly of 120 deputies, which is still not enough for the majority needed to form a government on its own, adds AP.
The agency points out that special attention is being paid to voting in the north, where the majority of the population is Serb and where Srpska lista, the dominant Serbian party, which is believed to be closely associated with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, is expected to retain control of most of its strongholds.
Elšani: Election day in the north of Kosovo without problems
The Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the Northern Region, Veton Eljšani, said today that the election day in the northern part of Kosovo, for now, is going without problems.
He reminded Radio Kontakt plus that the Kosovo Police has drawn up an operational plan for the whole of Kosovo and that the north is also part of that plan.
"We have been in the north of Kosovo since three o'clock this morning and we are watching how the election day is going. We have cooperation with the prosecutor's office, investigators are also there, and so far no case has been initiated," said Eljšani.
By 13 p.m., 16,11 percent of registered voters had voted
In the local elections in Kosovo, 16,11 percent of slightly more than two million registered voters voted by 13 p.m. The highest turnout was recorded in Serbian areas.
31 percent in Novi Brdo, 16,62 in Leposavic; Štrpcu 24,39; Zubin Potok 37,10; Zvecanu 38,17; Gračanići 23,82; Ranilugu 36,04; Partesu 24,15; Klokot 29,50 and the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica 29,50 percent.
In the largest constituency, the municipality of Pristina, the turnout was 18,58 percent.
CEC in Pristina: So far the highest turnout in Zvečan, Zubina Potok and North Mitrovica
The highest turnout in today's local elections in Kosovo and Metohija when it comes to Serbian areas until 11 am is in Zvečan - 20,49 percent, Zubin Potok - 18,19 percent and North Mitrovica 17,77 percent, according to data published on the website of the Central Election Commission in Pristina (CEC).
According to these data, the turnout in Leposavic is 9,58 percent, Štrpac 11,33 percent, Gračanica 9,72, Kosovo Polje 9,09, Novi Brdo 17,06, Ranilug 19,45, Partes 10,45 percent.
By 11 a.m., a total of 7,7 percent of voters had voted.
"I don't expect anything special"
When asked by the "Vremena" reporter what they expect from the local elections, a woman from Mitrovica said that she does not expect anything special because she has so much life experience.
"I only expect that someone who loves Mitrovica and will do something for it will come to the local self-government," she explained.
She added that she can't be a great optimist, but she can't be a pessimist either, and that's why she came.
Photo: Vreme / Milica SrejićMarko Jaksic
Voted by Marko Jakšić from the "North for All" initiative
The candidate for the mayor of North Mitrovica and the holder of the civil initiative "North for all" Marko Jakšić voted in the elementary school "Sveti Sava".
Photo: Vreme / Milica SrejićCandidate for mayor of North Mitrovica Milan Radojević and members of the Serbian List Igor Simić and Ivan Zaporožac
The representatives of the Serbian List voted
The president of the Serbian List, Zlatan Elek, voted in the elementary school "Sveti Sava" in North Mitrovica. Mayor candidate Milan Radojević and official of the Serbian List Igor Simić are voting in the Technical School.
Elek is satisfied with the response and invites citizens to use their right and elect representatives in the municipalities.
Radojevic said that the voting was going on without any problems and called on all citizens to exercise their right to vote.
Collective vote of supporters of the Serbian List
According to the reporter of "Vremena", in the center of Kosovska Mitrovica, local Serbs gathered to vote collectively. This has been the tradition of the Serbian List for years.
For now, the president of the Serbian List, Dr. Zlatan Elek, and the candidate for mayor, Milan Radojević, have voted.
Radaković: Miraculously, the election process is going without major problems
Dušan Radaković, coordinator for four municipalities in the north of Democracy in action, an organization that monitors these elections, said that polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m., and that everything started without major problems at most polling stations.
"Only two polling stations are not open, namely in Leposavic Municipality. One is open in the meantime, one is not yet," said Radaković.
He added: "For a wonderful miracle, the election process is going without any major problems"!
12 Serbian parties in the elections
12 Serbian parties and initiatives are participating in the elections.
During the campaign, the representatives of the Serbian List emphasized that the upcoming elections are fateful for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and that the Serbs must show unity and support the Serbian List, to "remove the Albanian illegitimate mayors with a pencil" and to return the municipalities in the north of Kosovo and Kosovo to their own hands, and confirm the victories in six municipalities south of the Ibar.
Representatives of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija have repeatedly pointed out that the upcoming local elections are essential for the survival of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and called on Serbs to vote for the Serbian List.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, also called on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to go to the local elections and vote for Srpska lista, the party that, as he pointed out, is the only one that represents the interests of the Serbian people.
At the appeal of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, the Republic of Serbia invited internally displaced persons from Kosovo to vote in the elections.
Serbian media received accreditation in the second round
Before these elections, the Serbian media also faced problems, since the CEC in the first group of media that received accreditation for election reporting did not grant accreditation to any Serbian media, at the request of a member of the CEC from Self-Determination.
The accreditations of 28 media houses for monitoring the elections in Kosovo, including RTS, were approved only after a new meeting of the CEC.
The previous regular local elections in the Republic of Kosovo were held on October 17, 2021, and on April 23, 2023, extraordinary local elections were held in four municipalities in the north, after in November 2022, Serb representatives left the Kosovo institutions due to Pristina's unilateral moves and non-compliance with the agreement.
Those extraordinary elections in the north of Kosovo and Metohija were boycotted by the Serbs, and the turnout was less than 3,5 percent.
Consequences of Albanian rule in the north of Kosovo and Metohija
Albanian mayors, who entered the municipal buildings with the help of the Kosovo police, came to head the municipalities in the north of the Kosovo and Serb majority.
While they were at the head of the local self-governments, Serbian institutions were moved out of the buildings where they worked in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, street names were changed, signs with the names of settlements in Cyrillic were removed and signs were installed where the names were first in the Albanian language and then in Latin.
A few days ago, in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, the sign "I love Kosovska Mitrovica" was removed and a new one was installed that only says "Mitrovica" with a green heart.
