Acting Minister of Administration and Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, reacted regarding procedural violations in the assemblies of the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Leposavić, and Zubin Potok, which voted to withdraw from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities.

Krasniqi stated that, according to monitoring reports, the mayors of these municipalities illegally proposed additional agenda items during the assembly meetings, with the aim of withdrawing from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities. He emphasized that the Law on Local Self-Government clearly stipulates that only assembly members have the right to request additional items, and only for urgent matters of public importance.

Beyond the procedural aspect, by initiating this issue, the Serbian List is once again openly demonstrating that its aim is to incite divisions between communities, create distrust and tensions, showing a lack of willingness to cooperate with other municipalities within the Association, Krasniqi wrote on Facebook.

He stressed that respecting legal procedures is a guarantee for democratic functioning, transparency, and the rule of law at the local level, while communities must work together for economic development, security, and strengthening mutual trust, in line with democratic values and integration processes toward the European Union.

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Every decision, every entry and exit in any institution of the Republic of Kosovo has clear rules and procedures, in accordance with the Constitution and laws in force in the Republic of Kosovo.

Therefore, regarding procedural violations in the assemblies of the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Leposavić, and Zubin Potok, based on monitoring reports of these meetings, it was found that the mayors of the municipalities illegally proposed additional agenda items during the assembly meetings, with the aim of withdrawing from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities.

This practice contradicts the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 47.2), which stipulates that only assembly members have the right to request additions to the agenda during the session, and only for urgent matters of public importance. Any request to add items must be voted on by the majority of assembly members (Article 47.3).

No legal provision grants the Mayor the right to propose additional agenda items during the assembly meeting.

Furthermore, the practice of not approving additional items as “special items,” but only approving the agenda in its entirety, constitutes a procedural violation, as the initial proposal comes from the mayor, who does not have the legal authority to take this action.

As a result, items proposed in this manner did not follow a legal procedure and are considered illegal, calling into question the legality of decisions made on them.

Respecting legal procedures is not a formality, but a guarantee for democratic functioning, transparency, and the rule of law at the local level.

Beyond the procedural aspect, by initiating this issue, the Serbian List once again openly demonstrates that its aim is to incite divisions between communities, create distrust and tensions, showing a lack of willingness to cooperate with other municipalities within the Association.

Communities in Kosovo undoubtedly have an interest in integrating and cooperating with each other for economic development, security, peaceful living, and strengthening mutual trust in all areas of society, in line with democratic values and integration processes toward the European Union.

Unfortunately, through this initiative, the Serbian List once again shows that its objective is to advance the interests of Serbia in Kosovo by fostering division, distrust, and tensions, rather than representing the interests of Kosovo Serbs, their integration, and well-being in society.