The Government of Serbia on Monday appointed Srećko Spasić as the head of the parallel Serbian municipality of Viti (Vitina) in Kosovo, just days after he withdrew from the mayoral runoff race in Klokot scheduled for November 9 in Kosovo, to support the Serb List candidate.
Spasić was appointed as the head of the Provisional Municipal Body of Viti, despite the fact that this parallel structure had been shut down by Kosovo authorities earlier this year.
Kosovo considers all Serbian provisional municipal bodies and state institutions operating on its territory as illegal. Belgrade, however, has refused to dissolve these structures and has relocated most of them within Serbian territory.
The Serbian Government’s decision to appoint Spasić was published on Monday in the country’s Official Gazette, following its adoption on November 6—three days after Spasić withdrew from the race and publicly urged his supporters to vote for his Serb List rival, Božidar Dejanović.