The president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, announced Saturday the postponement of elections in the Serb-majority north, now in the midst of an institutional paralysis due to the resignation of mayors, judges and police officers, the resignation of Serbian parties to participate in political life, all in the midst of a crisis that has intensified these days to the point of recording sporadic acts of violence.
The elections, initially scheduled for December 18, have been postponed to April 23, according to the presidential communiqué reported by Kosova Press.
On November 15, the party Serbian List of Kosovo declared its total and complete renunciation of the local elections, where the election of the mayors of four Serb-majority municipalities was scheduled: North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and Zvecan, all governed by mayors of this formation, who had resigned five days earlier.
The boycott was the latest episode in a long series of clashes with Serbia over Serbian-issued vehicle identification plates, which Kosovo intended to take over until an agreement reached in late November through EU mediation.
Hostilities have intensified in recent days. Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti denounced on Tuesday attacks by «criminal gangs» in the north and, as reported by DPA last Friday, a police officer was slightly wounded after being shot by Serb gunfire in Zvecan.
The situation is extremely tense in Mitrovica, where 300 Kosovar police have been deployed to maintain calm between Kosovar Albanian citizens and the Serb majority.
