Albanian parties to participate in Serbian elections

18/01/2007

Two Albanian parties from southern Serbia have submitted a joint candidate list for Sunday's parliamentary vote. It could mark the beginning of a return by ethnic Albanians to Serbia's political life.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 18/01/07

Ethnic Albanians will be represented in Sunday's elections in Serbia. [Getty Images]

Two of the four Albanian parties from southern Serbia -- the Democratic Action Party and the Democratic Union of the Valley -- submitted a joint list of candidates to the Election Commission to run in Sunday's (January 21st) parliamentary elections. It is the first time since 1993 that Albanians from the southern Serbian municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja will take part in parliamentary elections.

The two parties will run as a coalition of Albanians from the Presevo Valley, as the Albanians call southern Serbia.

Leader Riza Halimi said that he expects the coalition to win two of the 250 seats in parliament. "We will advocate a better life for the Albanians by raising the level of security, developing the economy and the Albanians' legal and political status in the Presevo Valley," he said.

The representative of Albanian parties not participating in the elections, Jonuz Musliu, said he feels conditions are not yet ripe. Serbia still has not achieved a sufficient degree of decentralisation, he said.

According to Musliu, a May 2001 agreement between the Albanians and the Serbian authorities, reached following armed clashes in Presevo and Bujanovac, has not been fully implemented.

Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku last month called on his compatriots in southern Serbia to vote. "You should take part in all the processes that aid the introduction of democracy, including the January elections," Ceku said.

Analysts say Albanian participation could increase pressure on Belgrade to advise Kosovo Serbs to take part in the Kosovo institutions. International officials have, on several occasions, criticised Belgrade for failing to encourage this.

Leading Serbian politicians welcomed the Albanians' decision to participate. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that the inclusion of the Albanian ethnic minority in parliament would benefit the entire country, just as the inclusion of other ethnic minorities would.

The Democratic Party (DP), led by Serbian President Boris Tadic, hailed the Albanians' decision. "We want them to partner with the majority political parties in the government, various institutions, executive power -- to be integrated in the same manner they have been integrated in southern Serbia," DP spokeswoman Jelena Markovic said.

About 58,000 Albanians live in three municipalities in southern Serbia. Most reside in Presevo, where they account for 90% of the population.