Coverage of the election campaign for the parliamentary elections in Kosovo by media such as Inform, Courier and politics, and Serbian officials during the period 10 May–4 June, is characterized by a common framing that presents the electoral process mainly through the logic of crisis, ethnic conflict and institutional uncertainty. In around 50 articles analyzed, the elections are not treated as a democratic competition, but as a process influenced by “institutional terror”, “militarization” and “electoral engineering”. The actions of Kosovo institutions are interpreted as part of an organized strategy against the Serbian community, including arrests, changes in election commissions and the use of the diaspora vote as a suspected manipulation mechanism.
In parallel, the narrative of these sources is built around a strong political and ethnic polarization, where certain figures such as Nenad Rašić, the acting Minister for Communities and Returns, are portrayed as an instrument of official Pristina to weaken Serbian representation, while the Serbian List is presented as the only mechanism of Serbian political unity. In this framework, developments in northern Kosovo, including the takeover of infrastructure and the increase of security capacities, are interpreted as part of a broader project for demographic and political change, while the elections are framed as an existential confrontation for the political survival of Serbs and a test of Belgrade’s influence on the ground.
“Institutional terror” and “repression of Serbs” as a campaign tool
One of the main narratives promoted by Serbian officials during the election campaign is the claim that the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, is using state institutions and police actions to exert pressure on the Serbian community and gain political support from the Albanian electorate. In this context, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, stated that Serbs in Kosovo are waiting for "a lot of trouble", claiming that the takeover of public facilities in the north, including the railway stations in Zvecan and Leposaviq, is part of Kurti's "electoral strategy"". At the same time, Vučić called on Serbs in Kosovo to vote in the June 7 snap parliamentary elections. to vote for the Serbian List, presenting this entity as the only legitimate representative of the interests of the Serbian community.
This narrative has been reinforced by other Serbian officials, who have portrayed the arrests of the directors of health and education institutions in Gracanica as acts of repression against the Serb community. Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, has described their detention as “kidnapping,” claiming that Kurti is “deliberately provokes crises to compensate for lack of economic results”. Along the same lines, Igor Simić described the detention of the directors as "organized institutional terror" against Serbs, while Miloš Vučević, the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, described these actions as a violation of basic civilized norms and a continuation of political and physical violence against the Serbian community. calling for support for the Serbian List to protect Serbian interestsOverall, the narrative aims to present the Kosovo Government as a repressive regime that uses state institutions for electoral gain, while mobilizing the Serbian electorate around the Serbian List in response to this alleged pressure.
“Election manipulation” and “electoral engineering”
Another narrative repeated by Serbian officials and media is the claim that the electoral process in Kosovo is being manipulated through institutional mechanisms and diaspora voting, with the aim of favoring the ruling party and weakening the political representation of Serbs. According to this narrative, the Kosovo Government and electoral institutions are trying to “translate” or distort the political will of the Serb community through administrative changes and control of the electoral process. In this context, Danijela Vujicic, Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Commission for Kosovo, accused the Central Election Commission (CEC) of reducing the number of members of the election commissions proposed by the Serbian List from 38 to 14, claiming that this action is aimed at to limit oversight of the voting process and create room for manipulation.
This narrative has also been reinforced by Serbian media, particularly “Informer.rs”, which has promoted claims that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has "bought" electoral support through voter registration outside Kosovo, describing the diaspora as the “main reservoir” of votes for the Vetevendosje Movement. Along the same lines, Milovan Drecun, chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Committee for Defense, claimed that Kurti relies on the diaspora because these voters do not directly experience the economic and social challenges of citizens living in Kosovo., such as unemployment or low living standards. Overall, the narrative aims to undermine confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and present the potential election results as the product of electoral engineering rather than the free will of voters.
Denigrating Nenad Rashiq as a "servant" of Pristina
A central narrative in Serbian political discourse is the presentation of the political representative of Serbs in Kosovo institutions, Nenad Rašić, as a figure close to the Kosovo Government and as a tool of Prime Minister Albin Kurti to influence the representation of the Serb community, especially in relation to reserved seats in institutions. In this context, the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petković, has described Rašić as a “zero moralist”, accusing him of collaborating with Pristina institutions and for actions that, according to him, aim to "intimidate Serb voters and weaken the Serbian List"".
In the same vein, representatives of the Serbian List have deepened this narrative by presenting Rašić as a divisive factor within the Serbian community. Dalibor Jevtić has stated that he is attempting to create fear among Serbs to secure personal political support through institutional processesMeanwhile, Igor Simić has claimed that the lists linked to Rašić included "pseudo-Serbs", including Bosniaks and Montenegrins, raising accusations that this could lead to changes in the political identity of the Serbian community, including claims of endangering the Serbian language or state orientations. Overall, this narrative aims to delegitimize Rašić as a political representative and present him as an instrument of official Pristina's influence on the representation of Serbs in Kosovo.
Call for Serbian unity under “one bajrak (flag)”
In response to political developments and perceived tensions in Kosovo, the Serbian political discourse strongly promotes the narrative of complete national unity of Serbs under a single political representation, identified with the Serbian List (Srpska Lista). This approach presents electoral unification as a necessity for protecting national interests and confronting, as it is said, the risk of “collapse of institutions” of the Serbian community in Kosovo. Along these lines, Danijela Nikolic The chairwoman of the Kosovo Committee in the Serbian Parliament, and the mayor of Zubin-Potok, Dragisa Milović, have called on Serbian citizens to unite "under one flag" in the June 7 elections, presenting this as a defense mechanism against political and institutional pressures.
In the same spirit, Dalibor Jevtic has described the elections as a "referendum" on the survival of the Serbian community. and, as he interpreted it, the exclusionary policies of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Meanwhile, the director of the Serbian Post, Zoran Anđelković, stressed that the unity of Serbs will serve as a political message to Pristina that the connection with Belgrade remains unchanged and unbrokenOverall, this narrative presents electoral cohesion as a strategic instrument for maintaining the political and institutional influence of the Serbian community in Kosovo.
Militarization and the project to “eradicate Serbs”
One of the harshest narratives in Serbian political discourse presents the strengthening of security capacities in Kosovo as part of a project to “uproot” Serbs from their territories. In this context, the official of the Serbian intelligence service BIA (Bezbednosno-informativna agencija), Relja Željski, has spoken about what he calls "Kurti's project to eradicate Kosovo Serbs", claiming a systematic strategy to weaken the Serbian presence. Along the same lines, retired colonel Ilija Kajtez interprets the arming of Kosovo and the expansion of security structures as oriented towards "ethnic cleansing", while Veljko Odalović accuses Kosovo institutions of using "secret lists" and processes mounted as a pressure mechanism against Serbs.
This narrative is also reinforced at the political level, where figures like Petar Petković interpret the militarization and arrests as electoral actions of Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the eve of the elections. Similarly, Igor Simić describes the deployment of security forces and the taking over of infrastructure in the north as "electoral parade" aimed at limiting Serbian influence in the electoral process. Overall, these claims present the development of security capacities as part of a political strategy oriented against Serbian presence and influence in Kosovo.