Wrote: Festim Rizanaj
Russian media outlet, Serbian language service, "Sputnik" has published an article today (January 24) with the headline, "Moscow warns: Kurti aims to falsify elections in Kosovo."
The article is based on statements by the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, who claims that Albin Kurti intends to falsify the election results to install loyal representatives in the Assembly.
What did Zakharova claim in a briefing with journalists?
Maria Zakharova, in a briefing with journalists on January 23, claims that the Pristina authorities, with the support of Washington and the EU, are conducting a campaign to cleanse Kosovo of Serbs and for the violent Albanianization of the region.
She emphasizes that the Serb List is the main obstacle to Pristina's institutions and the only party that can protect the rights of Serbs in the upcoming elections.
According to her, Albin Kurti intends to falsify the election results to place his loyal representatives in the Assembly.
Do they stay?these claims?
So, Maria Zaharova emphasizes that the Serb List is the main obstacle to Pristina's institutions and the only party that protects the rights of Serbs, while claiming that Albin Kurti (prime minister and leader of the Vetevendosje Movement) aims to falsify the elections by preventing the party's participation and banning its observers from election commissions.
The facts show that on January 22, the Central Election Commission accredited 18,163 political observers, including 290 from the Serbian List. (here) The latter had filed a complaint against the CEC's decision of January 14 on the composition of election commissions and the composition of counting teams in municipal voting centers, but the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Appeals considered the decision legal. (here)
Regarding the conduct of the elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) will install cameras at each polling station to monitor the elections. (here) Meanwhile, at the invitation of President Vjosa Osmani, around 100 observers from the European Union mission will monitor the electoral process, with head Nathalie Loiseau confirming the assessment of the process' compliance with international laws and standards. (here)
Zaharova also claims that the Pristina authorities, with the support of Washington and the EU, are conducting a campaign to cleanse Kosovo of Serbs and violently Albanianize the region.
What did Kurti say about Serbs during the campaign and did he mention ethnic cleansing and the Albanianization of Kosovo?
At a pre-election rally in Peja, Kosovo Prime Minister and Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti stressed that his government has shown opposition to parallel criminal structures and supported the true integration of Serbs who respect the law and accept the Republic of Kosovo. He also mentioned northern Kosovo, which he considers part of the success of his second government, while also criticizing his political opponents.
Another element highlighted by Kurti is the increase in the number of businesses in the north, as well as the engagement of Serbs in employment, who, according to him, express gratitude to the "government, state and Kosovo Police." (here)
""Over 300 companies were opened in northern Kosovo last year, hundreds of Serbs were employed, who are grateful to the government, the state and the Kosovo Police."
""In all of Kosovo, and especially in northern Kosovo, we gave sovereignty to the state, we gave integrity to the territory, we gave security to the people, we gave peace to that region. We have established the rule of law, constitutionalism. We faced parallel structures and criminal gangs. They tried to destabilize us, to intimidate us, but every time they tried, they failed and we won. We did not do this against Serbs, but against Serbia, because it is also against our people."
The claim that Kurti's interest is an ethnically pure Kosovo has no basis whatsoever. Although in the past, Kurti spoke about national unification, in this campaign, at least in his public statements so far, he has not spoken about this project or about "Greater Albania."
Other allegations of ethnic cleansing of Serbs and election interference to damage the Serbian List
Similar allegations of threats against Serbs and embracing the idea of "Greater Albania" have also been recently published by Russian-Serbian media and expressed by Serbian officials.
According to a recently published article on RT (Russia Today), the Serbian-language service, in the context of the election campaign in Kosovo, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement are creating an election narrative based on harsh rhetoric, which RT describes as “calls for war and hatred towards Serbs.” (here)
Petar Petkovic, even at the beginning of the election campaign in Kosovo, had claimed that the Prime Minister and leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, had threatened the Serbian people and Serbia at the start of the campaign. (here)
also Sputnik, the Serbian-language service of the Russian media, has published an article claiming that the Vetevendosje Movement's pre-election campaign is linked to the idea of a "Greater Albania." (here)
The Russian media outlet Sputnik, in Serbian, published an article on January 21 claiming that the Serbian List could be damaged in the February 9, 2025 elections, due to a lack of control over the electoral process and the involvement of "phantom voters" from Pristina. (here)
Analyze:
The Russian media outlet Sputnik in Serbian published an article on January 24, claiming that Albin Kurti intends to rig the elections in Kosovo to install loyal representatives in the Assembly. The article is based on statements by Maria Zakharova, who says that the Pristina authorities, with support from Washington and the EU, are conducting a campaign to cleanse Kosovo of Serbs and violently Albanianize the region, emphasizing that the Serb List is the main obstacle to this plan.
The facts show that the CEC will install cameras in every polling station for surveillance, while 100 observers from the European Union will monitor the vote on February 9. Also, on January 22, the CEC accredited 18,163 observers, including 290 from the Srpska Lista. The Srpska Lista has filed an appeal against the CEC’s decision on the composition of the election commissions, but the ECAP has ruled that the CEC acted in accordance with the law.
The claim that Kurti aims for an ethnically pure Kosovo has no basis. Although in the past he has not spoken about national unification or the cleansing of Serbs, on the contrary, he has mentioned the involvement of northern Serbs in some businesses there.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info evaluates Zakharova's claims as a "conspiracy theory".
Reasoning:
"Conspiracy theories" are considered to be informational content that contains a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event or person, presenting it as part or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). The characteristic of these contents is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any reliable evidence.