AFP/Gracanica, Kosovo

Ethnic Serbs who do not recognise Kosovo’s independence are divided over whether to vote in the local elections organised by the authorities in Pristina.

Some 80,000 Serbs living in isolated enclaves among the ethnic Albanian majority are expected to vote, while the main Serb community in the north has called for a boycott.

Momcilo Trajkovic, who is running for mayor in the Gracanica enclave near Pristina, has called on his compatriots to turn out to vote even if they do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, saying the polls represent “a crossroads for Kosovo Serbs”.

“We believe it is the lesser of two evils to participate in the elections, and it is possible this lesser evil can be turned into something good,” said Trajkovic, leader of the Serbian Resistance Movement.

He argued that by voting for their representatives at a local level Kosovo Serbs would put their presence on the political agenda.

Trajkovic said a high turnout of Serbs in the enclaves would be a step towards both communities finding “a compromise” and a basis on which to “build a multi-ethnic life”.

If elected, the veteran leader has promised to build bridges between Pristina and Belgrade and facilitate dialogue as well as deal with local issues troubling Gracanica, including power cuts and infrastructure problems.

“We will never sincerely recognise Kosovo’s independence, but we agree to talk with Kosovo institutions in order to get the chance of a normal life,” he said.

For Rada Trajkovic, another political veteran among Serbs in central Kosovo, taking part in the vote is the only way for local Serbs to protect their interests.

“The only way to protect ourselves from discrimination within institutions is to create our own institutions within a framework that will enable us to find a way to protect” Serb interests, she said.

Voting is also a way to “avoid a total defeat of Serbs and Serbia” in Kosovo, “an opportunity for Belgrade to see a stabilised Serbian presence in the territory”, she said.

“We are ready for an honourable integration, but not for an assimilation,” she added.

Their attitudes are in sharp contrast to that of the 40,000 Serbs living in Kosovo’s north, where they are in the majority and border Serbia. They are expected to massively boycott the elections in line with calls from the authorities in Belgrade and the influential Serbian Orthodox Church.

Goran Bogdanovic, Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo, has said that to vote would be tantamount to legitimising Kosovo’s independence.

Serbia is challenging the legality of Kosovo’s declaration at the International Court of Justice, which will begin public hearings in December.