The Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica elected Nemanja Biševac, a member of the Presidency of the Serb List (Srpska Lista), as its new Chair at the first regular session of the newly formed Assembly, held on Thursday.
At the same session, the Assembly adopted a proposal put forward by the newly elected Mayor, Milan Radojević, to withdraw North Mitrovica from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKO).
Srpska Lista formally took over governance in North Mitrovica, as well as in the other northern municipalities, on December 5, following extraordinary local elections. The elections came after Serb representatives had withdrawn from Kosovo institutions at the end of 2022 and boycotted the 2023 local elections, which resulted in Albanian mayors assuming office in the northern municipalities.
Session Opened by Oldest Councillor
The first regular session of the new Assembly included four agenda items and was opened by the oldest councillor, Siniša Lazić of Srpska Lista.
At the outset, Lazić asked that any police officers present in the assembly hall leave the room, should there be any. His request followed remarks made at the constitutive session by Marko Jakšić, a councillor from the civic initiative “North for All,” who said he felt uncomfortable due to what he described as the presence of plainclothes police officers in the chamber. As no one responded to Lazić’s request, the session proceeded.
The agenda included the election of the Assembly Chair, adoption of the minutes from the constitutive session, formation of the Committee on Policy and Finance, and the proposal to withdraw from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities.
Biševac Elected with Ten Votes
Following the adoption of the minutes from the constitutive session, councillors voted on the election of the Assembly Chair. Nemanja Biševac was the only candidate nominated, proposed by Srpska Lista.
Out of 13 councillors, ten voted in favor of Biševac. Two councillors — Aida Ferati Doli from Vetëvendosje and Emir Azemi from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) — declined to vote. One ballot was declared invalid, as it contained the name “Pera Detlić” (Woody Woodpecker).
Aida Ferati Doli was elected Deputy Chair of the Assembly for Communities.
Addressing the Assembly after his election, Biševac thanked citizens who had supported Srpska Lista in the previous elections.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the citizens who voted for Srpska Lista, for our mayoral and councillor candidates,” Biševac said.
“They have given us a great honor and an even greater responsibility — to continue developing our city and returning it to its citizens. I hope that in the coming period, together with the mayor, we will be able to make decisions that will improve the lives of all our citizens.”
Committee Formed, AKO Exit Adopted
The Assembly also formed the Committee on Policy and Finance. Ivan Zaporožac of Srpska Lista was proposed as Chair, with Suzana Aleksić and Veljko Orlović as members from the same party. Marko Jakšić and Aida Ferati Doli were also appointed as committee members. The decision was adopted with ten votes in favor.
Finally, councillors voted on Mayor Milan Radojević’s proposal for North Mitrovica to withdraw from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities. The proposal was adopted with 11 votes in favor and two against. The opposing votes were cast by Aida Ferati Doli and Emir Azemi.
Explaining his initiative, Mayor Radojević said that the previous Assembly had decided to join the Association on June 30, 2023, without public debate or consultations with citizens, which he cited as the key reason for proposing the municipality’s withdrawal from AKO.
Read more:
North Mitrovica Assembly Votes to Withdraw from Kosovo Association of Municipalities
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
