Ethnic Serb leaders in Kosovo have protested the swearing-in of a mayor from the ruling party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, calling it the beginning of an “invasion of the north.”
Erden Atiq, from the ruling ethnic Albanian-led Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party, was sworn in on May 19 in North Mitrovica.
Atiq won the post on April 23 in a vote that was boycotted en masse by ethnic Serbs in four majority-Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo.
Serb mayors of the cities had resigned last November to protest a cross-border dispute over vehicle registrations.
As expected, turnout was very low in the election after the dominant ethnic Serb party, Srpska Lista (Serbian List), which enjoys the support of neighboring Serbia's government, announced it was boycotting the vote.
Serbian List Deputy Head Igor Simic told a news conference on May 19 that with the swearing-in of Atiq,"the invasion of the north officially began and will end when the Serbs decide."
If it continues, "the response of the Serbian people will follow on June 1. They will defend themselves by all means," he added without being specific.
He demanded that Kurti's government "stop repression, land-expropriation, arrest, persecution, and attacks on Serbs."
Kosovo’s government has been taking over land in four municipalities in the north, after declaring them of “public interest.”
The government said the goal is to build police stations and create projects that "will influence the creation of conditions for comprehensive development."
After being sworn in, Atiq said that "we and the whole team will work for all citizens without discrimination.”
“We will be doing the most to normalize this part of the municipality. I invite all citizens to meet us, visit us and cooperate as best as possible for the good of the citizens," he said.
Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani have denied accusations of harassment against ethnic Serbs and blamed Belgrade for intimidating Serbs from the north to discourage their participation in the voting.
The winners of elections in three other cities -- Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok -- conducted during the boycott have not yet been sworn in. It is unknown when they will take office, given that parallel institutions financed by Serbia are located in the buildings of these municipalities.
The Central Election Commission said only 1,567 people -- or 3.47 percent of voters -- showed up at polling stations, opening the way for candidates from Kurti’s Vetevendosje party to win the posts with small vote counts.
RFE/RL correspondents reported that the only ballots being cast were submitted in places with ethnic Albanian residents.
The election results could further exacerbate tensions between ethnic Serbs, who are mostly loyal to neighboring Serbia, and Kosovo's central government, which represents the country's overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian majority.
Late on May 18, the so-called QUINT states -- United States, France, Italy, Germany, and Britain -- expressed concerns about the situation in northern Kosovo, saying the April 23 elections did not constitute a lasting political solution for the municipalities involved due to the boycott.
“On April 23, four mayoral elections and two municipal assembly elections were held in the north of Kosovo, consistent with Kosovo’s constitutional and legal requirements. Yet, following the boycott by a significant portion of the Serb community, the results are not a long-term political solution for these municipalities,” a joint statement read.
The group called on all actors "to urgently work together among themselves all stakeholders, including local communities, toward a solution that ensures sustainable, representative and participatory democracy in these municipalities."
“There should be no actions or initiatives -- including by newly elected mayors and municipal assemblies -- that do not serve the people or that could heighten tensions,” the statement added.
Ethnic Serbs compose some 1-2 percent of Kosovo's population of around 2 million people.
Fifteen years after the mostly ethnic Albanian former province declared independence from Serbia, Belgrade continues to oppose recognition of Kosovo's independence.
Many ethnic Serbs in Kosovo continue to lean heavily on support from Serbia and its nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic.