Kosovo will hold early local elections in four municipalities in the Serb-majority north, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Wednesday.
"We are getting ready to hold early local elections in the north of Kosovo. Meanwhile, we expect the so-called temporary measures against us (by the EU) to be lifted as soon as possible and the logical thing to be held before the elections," Kurti said in a news conference with Kosovo Local Government Minister Elbert Krasniqi.
He added that it is not possible to hold elections without reducing tension in the region.
Krasniqi said early elections could be held if 20% of voters in a municipality signed a petition prepared for the dismissal of its mayor.
Early elections in Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and Northern Mitrovica were demanded by the international community to reduce tensions in the region.
In November 2022, local Serb authorities, administrative workers, judges, and police officers jointly resigned in protest against Pristina's proposal to swap out Serbian license plates with ones from Kosovo. After Serbs blocked highways and border crossings in December 2022, the elections for local organizations were postponed.
The four bordering Serbian towns assert that Belgrade is their capital rather than Pristina since they do not recognize Pristina's authority. Before they participate in the election, representatives of Kosovo Serbs from the north, notably the Serbian List party supported by Belgrade, want to see an association of Kosovo Serb towns established.
