Residents of four Serb-majority municipalities boycott vote on removing ethnic Albanian mayors

By FLORENT BAJRAMI and LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Residents of four Serb-majority municipalities have overwhelmingly boycotted a vote on removing their ethnic Albanian mayors from office following last year’s mayoral elections. The referendum on Sunday was supported by the West. It was an attempt to diffuse tensions between Kosovo and neighboring Serbia as both countries vie to join the European Union. But Kosovo’s main ethnic Serb party had called for a boycott of the referendum. Only 253 out of 46,556 registered voters cast their ballots. A majority vote is needed for the mayors to be ousted.