The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kosovo officially set April 21 as the scheduled date for conducting referendums regarding the dismissal of four Albanian mayors from municipalities. These mayors, whose elections took place last year, have been a source of heightened tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. 

Citizens of Serb-dominated municipalities, including North Mitrovica, Leposaviq, Zubin Potok and Zveçan, collectively signed petitions advocating for the dismissal of the mayors. Following a January petition, which required the support of at least 20 percent of eligible voters, the electoral commission confirmed that a quarter of the voters in these municipalities were in favor of holding a new vote and eventually, with eight votes in favour and two abstentions, the CEC decided Friday to hold referendums on April 21. The decision was wholeheartedly welcomed by the European Union Ambassador to Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, who applauded their step to schedule “for the removal of mayors” and urged for “free and fair voting.”

In September 2023, the government introduced an Administrative Instruction detailing the process for dismissing a mayor through petition. According to these guidelines, the initiation of the dismissal process requires a minimum of three eligible citizens from the municipality to form an initiating group. They must then officially inform the chairman of the municipal assembly of their intent to collect signatures for a petition to remove the mayor.

Subsequently, the petition must garner signatures from at least 20 percent of all registered voters in the municipality to be considered valid. If the petition achieves the required threshold, a mayor can be dismissed if more than 50 percent of the total registered voters vote in favor of the dismissal. However, if this criterion is not met, another round of voting can be conducted in the subsequent year.

In previous years, mayors from ethnic Albanian parties were elected to office in North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, with voter turnouts as low as three to five percent. Consequently, the government installed new mayors in the four predominantly Serb municipalities, previously led by Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista mayors. Thereafter, Kosovo Serbs boycotted local elections in April 2023.

The imposition of new mayors triggered demonstrations as it angered Serbs who form a majority in the region, which escalated into clashes with the Kosovo Police and NATO’s peacekeeping mission Kosovo Force.

In the last local elections in 2021, Srpska Lista, which is a Serb-dominant political party, secured the majority of votes in all four northern Serb-majority municipalities.

The roots of tensions between Serbs and Albanians date back to 1998-1999 when Serbian forces clashed with ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, resulting in approximately 13,000 casualties, mostly among ethnic Albanians. Despite Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, Belgrade refuses to recognize it as a sovereign nation. Kosovo has been involved in the EU-facilitated dialogue on the normalization of relations with Serbia.