PRISTINA, Kosovo — On Monday, Kosovo’s election officials announced a decision to exclude the main ethnic Serb party from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections, citing the party’s nationalist ideology and its close associations with Serbia as the reasons behind this action.

The Central Election Commission opted not to certify the Srpska Lista, known as the Serb List, which is the dominant party among Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs. Officials from the commission pointed out that Zlatan Elek, the leader of the Serb List, has consistently referred to Kosovo not as an independent state but as “Kosovo i Metohija,” reflecting the terminology used by Belgrade, which views it as an autonomous province within Serbia.

Election commission members further claimed that the party maintains strong connections with Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? and other Serb leaders who similarly refuse to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence.

There has been no immediate response from the Serb List regarding the commission’s decision. This action is likely to exacerbate the already strained relations between Kosovo and Serbia, despite ongoing international efforts aimed at fostering normalization between the two entities.

In an Instagram post, Vu?i? condemned the prohibition, labeling the Serb List as the “only political opponent” of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. He accused Kurti of attempting to eliminate the Serb presence from the region, which he referred to as Kosovo’s southern province.

During a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Vu?i? raised the issue, stating that Kosovo is “violating all acts of international law” by trying to prevent the Serb List from participating in the forthcoming elections.

Scheduled for February 9, Kosovo’s parliamentary elections are anticipated to be a critical assessment of Kurti’s leadership. His political party achieved a remarkable victory in the elections of 2021.

Historically, Kosovo was a province of Serbia until NATO intervened in 1999 with a 78-day bombing campaign, which brought an end to a conflict between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels. This conflict resulted in approximately 11,400 deaths, primarily among ethnic Albanians, and led to the withdrawal of Serbian military forces. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008, a move that Serbia has consistently refused to accept.

Belgrade continues to regard Kosovo as an integral part of its territory and retains significant influence over the ethnic Serb community residing in the region.