The Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica voted on Friday to annul a controversial decision on the renaming of streets, concluding that the move adopted by the previous assembly term was not in line with legal procedures and failed to reflect the will of the majority Serbian population.
At a regular session, the assembly majority agreed that the decision—under which dozens of streets were renamed last year—had been adopted without proper public consultation and outside established legal frameworks. As a result, the decision was formally repealed, despite opposition from two councillors representing the Albanian community.
Twelve councillors voted in favor of annulling the decision, while two voted against.
The issue was added to the agenda following the decision of the previous assembly, adopted on August 25 last year, when the names of 87 streets in North Mitrovica were changed. The annulment was opposed by Deputy Chairperson Aida Ferati Doli of the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) and Emir Azemi of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).
Alleged Procedural Violations
During the debate, Serbian List councillor Ivan Zaporožac proposed that the decision be repealed, citing what he described as “violations of legal procedures.”
Referring to the previous assembly’s decision to rename 85 streets, Zaporožac said that both before and after its adoption, a “series of irregularities” had been identified that, in his words, “called the legality of the decision into question.”
He listed several alleged procedural flaws, including the lack of consultation with the Serbian community, the absence of public hearings, and irregularities in the formation of the street-naming commission. According to Zaporožac, the commission was formally established with five Albanian members, while official documents later listed four Albanians and one Serb—Dušan Milunović—who, he claimed, publicly stated that he was not a member of the commission.
Zaporožac also noted that the decision was adopted at a time when local elections had already been called.
Calls to Restore the Previous Situation
The debate was joined by the oldest councillor in the assembly, Siniša Lazić, who also criticized the lack of consultation with the Serbian community. He argued that the decision had effectively been made by a single individual who, as he put it, “represented only himself.”
Marko Jakšić, councillor and leader of the civic initiative “North for All,” said the street renaming process had been politically motivated and carried out in haste.
“I personally have no problem with a street named after Isa Boletini in the Bosniak Mahala,” Jakšić said. “But I do have a problem when my niece asks me why she lives on Isa Boletini Street, which is also one of the central streets where Serbs are the majority.”
Jakšić described some of the new street names as “strange” and said the process amounted to “political pressure” on the Serbian community. He argued that the streets had been renamed improperly and stressed that a way must be found to return the situation to what it was before—something he said had not harmed any citizen of North Mitrovica.
“The role of councillors is to work in the best interest of all citizens of this municipality—Serbs, Albanians, Bosniaks, Ashkali, Turks and Roma,” Jakšić said, calling for the issue to be addressed seriously.
However, he also cautioned that the annulment procedure should be handled more carefully, warning that the Ministry could potentially suspend or reject the assembly’s decision. Jakšić requested that Zaporožac submit detailed documentation outlining the alleged procedural violations.
Opposition from LVV
Deputy Chairperson Aida Ferati Doli of LVV spoke out against annulling the decision, saying the street renaming process had already been thoroughly discussed within the Committee on Policy and Finance.
“The street names were taken from the Institute of Science in Serbia, which confirmed there were no issues and that these names could be used,” Ferati Doli said. “A lot of work went into this. I chaired the commission, and this was not an easy process.”
She added that she supported the original decision and opposed reopening the issue, noting that it had already been debated and approved by the relevant committee.
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