Kosovo’s election appeals authority on Wednesday overturned a ban on the main party of the ethnic Serb minority, allowing it to field candidates in upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Electoral Panel for Complaints and Appeals decided that the party, Srpska Lista or Serb List, “has met the political conditions to be certified for registration.”
The panel on Monday overturned the decision of the Central Election Commission, which had refused to certify the Srpska Lista party because of its nationalist stance and close ties with neighboring Serbia.
The panel ruled that the Commission’s decision was “contrary to the legal nature relating to the application and certification of political subjects.”
Srpska Lista holds nine of the 10 seats reserved for the Serb minority in the 120-member parliament. It will field 48 candidates for parliamentary elections on February 9, which are expected to be a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti, whose ruling party won a landslide victory in 2021.
Western powers also expressed concern about the Commission’s decision, fearing it could further worsen the tense relations between Kosovo and Serbia despite their efforts to normalize them.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended the war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. About 11,400 people were killed in the battle, mainly ethnic Albanians, and Serbian forces were pushed out. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Serbia does not recognize.
Belgrade still considers Kosovo its province and has major influence over the Serb minority there.
