ALBANIANS WILL PROBABLY HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE IN THE ELECTORAL RACE

11. February 2014.

Riza Halimi's Movement for Democratic Action will most probably be the only Albanian party from South Serbia that won't boycott the early parliamentary elections scheduled for March 16.

Unlike the previous years, when Mr. Halimi participated in the elections in coalition with the ethnic Albanian parties, this time he is close to a decision to participate in the elections with other minority parties, which are the Croatian, Hungarian and Bosniak ones.

Thus, the previous decision of the ethnic Albanian parties from South Serbia to ignore the parliamentary voting won't crucially affect the voters of the Albanian nationality to stay at home on March 16.

In the opinion of Dusan Janjic of the Ethnic Forum NGO, the attitude of the Albanian boycotters is directly related to their tendency to keep the relationship with the Government of Serbia in the "frozen" state, as well as to their intention to internationalize the problems, the solution of which awaits the decision of Belgrade.

"Their real goal, which is that all the Albanians should be together, is behind everything. The other motive is to politically destroy Mr. Halimi, whose influence has become weaker. He has invested a lot in the relationship with Belgrade and entered the Serbian Pariament at the most recently held elections, by which he fully confirmed that the area of Presevo is part of Serbia, while it isn't so for the other Albanians", said Mr. Janjic, whose opinion is that Mr. Halimi's absence from the elections would be his political suicide.

The President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, Zoran Stankovic, said that Belgrade had laways conveyed to the Albanian leaders from South Serbia its desire for them to participate in the elections. It did the same this time, too:

"We call on them to elect their representatives in the National Assembly, and thus fulfill their requirements through the adoption of laws, on which they can certainly have an effect as independent MPs or as part of a parliamentary group. In that way, their voices will be heard more and they will be able to participate in the political life of Serbia and in the creation of laws, which will enable them to have better living and working conditions.

Source: Evening News and the Coordinating Body