Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
Several articles have been published whose headlines claim that the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) has formed a coalition with the Serbian List (LS) in the municipality of Gračanica.
The contents with this claim were published on Tuesday (December 30) by the media as "Nacionale.com","VoxKosova.com”And“Periscope.com".
What is the truth?
Hibrid.info found that the claim of a coalition between these two political entities is not confirmed.
The articles reported on the appointment of Leutrim Ajeti as deputy mayor of the municipality of Graçanica. In fact, in articles by “Nacionale.com” and “Periskopi.com”, this appointment was interpreted as a collaboration between LVV and LS.
The reporting in these texts is based on a post on Leutrim Ajeti's Facebook account, where he announced that upon the proposal of the Mayor, Novak Živić, the Municipal Assembly in Gračanica has appointed him Deputy Mayor for Communities, for the second time in a row (see here).
Leutrim Ajeti's Facebook post:
"Dear family, friends and loved ones,
Upon the proposal of the Mayor, Mr. Novak Zivic, today the Municipal Assembly in Gracanica appointed me Deputy Mayor for Communities for the second time in a row.
Special thanks to all the voters who trusted me in the October elections of this year, voting en masse for my candidacy for mayor.
I pledge to work for the good of all citizens, without distinction, to carry out projects that improve the lives of our citizens. As Vice Mayor, I pledge to cooperate closely with the legislative and executive branches of the Municipality, as well as with the central level.
Thank you with humility! May you be blessed!”
Hibrid.info found a later post by Kelmendi, in reaction to this claim, where he denied the officialization of a coalition and referred to the Law on Local Self-Government (see here).
Law on Local Self-Government for the Deputy Mayor for Communities
The first three paragraphs of Article 61, which sets out the rules for the election of the Deputy Mayor for Communities, state that municipalities where at least 10% of citizens belong to non-majority communities shall have a Deputy Mayor for Communities, the Deputy Mayor for Communities shall be appointed for the same term as the Mayor, and that the appointment and dismissal of the Deputy Mayor for Communities shall be proposed by the Mayor and shall be approved by the majority of the members of the Municipal Assembly who are present and voting, as well as the majority of the members of the Municipal Assembly who are present and voting, who belong to non-majority communities (here).
Hibrid.info has researched to find information about the voting process that took place in the session where Ajeti was appointed Vice President for Communities in Graçanica, but did not come across any such information. In an article published on the website of the Media Center in Çagllavica, it was reported that the Municipal Assembly of Graçanica elected Leutrim Ajeti from the “Albanian Alliance” as Vice President of the Municipality of Graçanica from among the minority communities, and Bekim Gashi, also from this civic initiative, as Vice President of the Municipal Assembly (see here).
According to the 2024 census, the Municipality of Gracanica had 18,486 inhabitants, of which 8,623 were Albanians, while 8560 were Serbs (see here).
However, in the 2025 local elections in October, in the assembly votes in the Municipality of Graçanica, LS received 6,916 votes or 63.92%, while the "Albanian Alliance", which was a coalition of Albanian parties, led by Leutrim Ajeti, had 2,489 votes, or 23.02%.
Analyze:
The claim that LVV and LS have reached a coalition in Gracanica, following the appointment of Leutrim Ajeti as deputy mayor of this municipality for Communities, is not correct.
The appointment of the Deputy Mayor for Communities is provided for by the Law on Local Self-Government, which stipulates that municipalities where at least 10% of citizens belong to non-majority communities will have a Deputy Mayor for Communities.
Also, in the last local elections, Ajeti ran as a candidate for the Albanian Alliance, which was a coalition of Albanian parties for the elections in this municipality.
Therefore, based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this as "Unverified Content" and "Manipulation of Facts".
Reasoning:
The "Unverified" rating is given to those informative contents that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which could not be verified due to certain circumstances (speed, lack of sources) during the publication of the content.
The “Deception” rating is given to informational content that is manipulated in terms of visual (deepfake, cheapfake), audio, or textual content to deceive the audience. This form of deception is usually used to produce false and manipulated content.