On the table are cakes, ajvar and cured meat with the inscription: "Another victory... I congratulate the Serbian List and our hardworking people in the Office for Kosovo and Metohija". This is how Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić marked the victory of the Serbian List in the local elections on his Instagram account. KiM.
Vučić, director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, as well as representatives of the Serbian List celebrated the victory in the local elections in Kosovo. On the streets of North Mitrovica, the celebration did not even last half an hour. With car horns, flags of the Republic of Serbia and party flags, supporters of the Serbian List made two rounds of North Mitrovica.
For the grand finale, the song "Eagle's Nest" was played and that was it. They said, "It's late, we're all tired."
Lethargy on the streets of Mitrovica
During the election day, there was a crowd only during the traditional collective voting of the Serbian List. When asked whether the citizens are there for work or of their own volition, local journalists answer: whatever you want, a little bit of everything. This type of voting is normalized, even though it contradicts all democratic principles.
The Serbian List convinced a part of the citizens that supporting them is equal to the fight for "staying on the hearths of the century". Enough for the Serbian List to regain its political functions, although this does not mean the return of Serbs to Kosovo's institutions.
In three years, enormous changes took place on the ground, which affected the worsening position of the Serbian community. One local journalist jokingly says: "We're doing so well here, that nobody even has to rebel."
Residents of North Mitrovica are generally not in the mood for statements to the media. Some of those who did not participate in the collective vote later said that they did not expect "anything" from these elections, except for the replacement of the mayor.
A woman from Mitrovica explained that this is because the Kosovo authorities decide on everything that is important for the life of Serbs in Kosovo.
The day after the election
Even the morning after the election, the atmosphere was not celebratory in the cafe "Vuk" - in Mitrovica better known as "Grej" - which is located below the premises of the winning Serbian List. Citizens came for morning coffee.
On the streets of the city, a day like any other.
Journalists who came to cover the elections are mostly still there. At one point, one got the impression that these days there were more journalists on the streets than citizens who were interested in the elections. Nevertheless, over 57.000 Serbs voted in the elections, and the Serbian List won in nine out of 10 municipalities.
What remained were their promises that upon entering the municipalities, they would cancel all the decisions made by the previous (Albanian) mayors.
