Visar Mehmeti won the seat as a deputy in Sunday’s elections in Serbia, and has called on Prime Minister Edi Rama for a greater commitment to protecting the rights of Albanians in the Preševo Valley, stressing that cooperation with official Tirana should be more intensive. “The main burden lies with the Prime Minister of Albania”, he said, calling for more support for the Albanian community.
One of the main concerns of Albanian representatives in the Serbian parliament remains the deactivation of addresses, which Mehmeti described as a factor that has prevented citizens from voting. He called for the reinstatement of deactivated addresses and the possibility for citizens to use their valid documentation.
“The main demand is that the deactivated addresses be reactivated”, the deputy told ”Report TV”, adding that this issue has also been raised in European institutions and in the American Congress.
Regarding the election result in Serbia, Mehmeti said the chances of securing a third Albanian mandate are small, citing high voter turnout and the deactivation of addresses as factors.
On cooperation with the new parliamentary majority, he expressed optimism about starting contacts after the elections are certified, but stressed that its stance should be judged by concrete actions. On the question of Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo, Mehmeti predicted that there may be a somewhat different approach, but not major changes compared with the previous government. “We cannot expect any drastic change from the past government”, he concluded.