During a press conference on Sunday, Kosovo’s PM Albin  Kurti stated that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic intervened in the parliamentary elections in Kosovo through the Serbian government, intelligence services, and organised crime groups.

“Serbia’s interference in our parliamentary elections is an assault on the democracy and sovereignty of Kosovo. It has influenced the selection of Serb MPs and non-Serb minorities, which are fully under the control of Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, the government, Serbian intelligence, and organised crime there,” Kurti declared.

He further added that these interventions have evolved “due to the improvement in security in the four northern municipalities, the rule of law, the fight against terrorist groups, and the closure of illegal structures.”

“The previous brutal and physical influence, including beatings and murders, is no longer possible. The threats have been replaced with hybrid forms of interference, including bribery, financial conditioning, blackmail, threats, and cyber-attacks,” Kurti continued.

The Minister for Communities and Return, Nenad Rasic, from the Serb community, said that Serbian authorities use Kosovo Serbs as a mechanism for control, but also as an element for destruction.

“They do not want us to have full integration and live in harmony in Kosovo, but the opposite,” Rasic stated. His party, Za Slobodu, Pravdu i Opstanak (For freedom, justice, and survival) secured one of the ten reserved seats at the Kosovo parliament for the Serb community.

Out of 120 seats in the Kosovo Assembly, Kosovo’s Constitution guarantees ten seats for the Serb community and another ten for other non-majority communities.

Kurti also mentioned that Milan Radojicic, a former deputy leader of Srpska Lista, played a significant role in interfering. 

Radojicic took responsibility for organising the attack in Banjska village in the Serb-majority municipality of Zvecan in Kosovo’s north on September 24, 2023. Kosovo has requested his extradition from Serbia.

In a reaction on Facebook, Srpska Lista dismissed the accusations made by Kurti and Rasic, calling them “brutal lies.” 

“Srpska Lista is proud to have received the greatest support from the Serbian people and that, despite all the pressures, blackmail, and threats, it was able to resist thanks to the unity of our people, once again proving that there will be no surrender,” it wrote.

The European Union Election Observation Mission stated on February 11, during its presentation of preliminary findings for the February 9 elections, that Serbia interfered in the elections through pressure on Serb voters in Kosovo.

German ambassador in Kosovo Jorn Rohde also accused Serbia of direct interference in Kosovo’s electoral process, in a post in the social media network BlueSky on February 18.

According to data from Kosovo’s Central Election Commission, the Srpska Lista received over 38,000 votes.