Kosovo appeals body overturns ban on ethnic Serb party, allowing it to run in parliamentary election

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo's election appeals authority on Wednesday cancelled a ban on the main party of the ethnic Serb minority, allowing it to field candidates in the upcoming parliamentary election.

The Electoral Panel for Complaints and Appeals decided that the party, Srpska Lista, or Serb List, has ''fulfilled the political terms to be certified for registration.''

The panel overturned a decision Monday by the Central Election Commission, which declined to certify the Srpska Lista party because of its nationalist stance and close ties to neighboring Serbia.

The panel ruled that the commission's decision was ''contrary to the legal dispositions referring to the application and certification of the political subjects.''

Of the 10 seats reserved for the Serb minority in the 120-member parliament, Srspka Lista holds nine. It will put up 48 candidates for the parliamentary election on Feb. 9, expected to be a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti, whose governing party won in a landslide in the 2021.

The original decision by the election commission was also opposed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who said ''Kurti is trying to root out the Serb people from (our) southern province.''

The Western powers also expressed their concern over the commission's decision, fearing it may further aggravate the already tense ties between Kosovo and Serbia, despite their efforts to normalize them.

Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO's 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which left about 11,400 dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and pushed Serbian forces out. Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008, which Serbia doesn't recognize.

Belgrade still considers Kosovo as its province and has a major influence on the Serb minority there.