Rakic wins election in northern Kosovska Mitrovica

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - The candidate for mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica on the slate of the Citizens' Initiative Srpska (GI Srpska), Goran Rakic, declared an election victory on Sunday evening after a re-run of the mayoral election in that town, and signaled that his first task would be to demand that all Serbs that had been unfairly detained should be released pending trial.

Spokesman for the GI Srpska Aleksandar Spiric said at a press conference that Rakic got 2,707 votes or 271 votes more than all other three candidates who secured 2,436 votes in total.

"My first task as new mayor of Kosovska Mitrovica will be to demand that Oliver Ivanovic and all other Serbs who were unfairly detained be released pending trial," Rakic said after declaring the election victory.

He said that he was declaring the victory of the GI Srpska, citizens of Kosovska Mitrovica and the victory of the state of Serbia.

"We are now setting out to create a community of Serb municipalities," said the new mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica.

Rakic thanked his voters and citizens of Kosovska Mitrovica for support, and Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Minister without Portfolio responsible for Kosovo-Metohija Aleksandar Vulin.

The Sunday election was the fourth attempt in less than four months to appoint mayor of northern Mitrovica.