The Serb List Convention in Gračanica: Unity, Dignity, and Progress for All Citizens PHOTO/VIDEO

The convention began with the national anthem Bože pravde.

Novak Živić, the Serb List candidate for Mayor of Gračanica, highlighted the difficult times for Serbs in Kosovo, emphasizing their resilience.

“We are gathered on our land in Gračanica, the soil of our ancestors, a land where we remember every prayer, every tear, every suffering, every step of the Serbian people. These are not easy days; everywhere we feel pressure and humiliation, and attempts to erase our name, silence our language, and destroy our institutions and existence. Their goal is to weaken us, frighten us, and separate us from our roots. But let them know: the Serbian people have learned to endure, never to surrender. Our strength is in our faith, our families, our state, our determination, and above all, in our unity, which no pressure can destroy. I promise you today that I will not be a mayor who observes from afar; I will be one of you, part of our collective work. The Serb List does not offer temporary gains or empty promises but responsibility, an institutional struggle for honor, dignity, and progress for all of us in Kosovo and Metohija. We are not alone in this fight — Serbia has always been, and always will be, with its people in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Živić.

He stressed that as long as Serbia exists, it will care for every Serb in Kosovo.

“They destroy our existence, close our institutions, arrest our compatriots, expel locals, demonstrating political and national power. From this place, we say we will endure as long as we have our people, as long as we have Serbia and President Aleksandar Vučić, who has been and remains our strength and support. I invite you to join this shared path not for myself, but for the political force that protects every family — the Serbian List. There will still be attempts to silence us or make us waver, but know this: we remain on our land, we protect the names of our ancestors, and we will fight for future generations. Our people are not for sale,” Živić added.

He called on citizens to demonstrate unity on election day:

“Let us show on October 12 that we are a people who rise above all pressures, a people who remember and believe. Vote for number 170 — to show that the Serbian people are not merchandise and that our dignity does not fit in anyone’s suitcase. Our children must know we fought, we did not bow our heads, and we did not give up. My word is my obligation; my work will be my proof,” Živić concluded.

Serbian List President Zlatan Elek underlined that the event was not just a political convention but a gathering of unity.

“It is my honor to greet you and thank you for coming in such numbers to support the largest, strongest, and only Serbian party in Kosovo and Metohija that will not renounce President Aleksandar Vučić or the state of Serbia, the Serbian List, number 170. This is not just a convention or pre-election campaign; it is a gathering of unity and Serbian solidarity. Gračanica faces enormous pressure — this is not just about words; over 2,500 Albanians are on our electoral lists, all aimed at changing the ethnic structure. Tonight, we say that will not happen,” said Elek.

He added that Gračanica is more than a number — it is sacred, representing the people, Serbian identity, and the Serbian heart beating in Kosovo.

“Let us be united and cohesive, because only then can we preserve Gračanica, the six municipalities south of the Ibar, and reclaim the four municipalities in the north. Only united can we protect our churches, monasteries, Cyrillic script, and our children. On October 12, vote Serbian, vote for the Serbian List, number 170, for Novak Živić,” Elek urged.

Elek also highlighted economic achievements:

“300 new jobs in healthcare have been created, thanks to the state of Serbia and President Vučić, supporting 300 families in these areas. The Serbian List fights for new jobs, kindergartens, and infrastructure projects, linking Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija with Serbia. That is why attempts are made to ban us, persecute us, and bring charges against us for defending the constitutional order of Kosovo. We must be one people, one family, without envy, divisions, or quarrels, all with the goal of preserving and enhancing Gračanica. Be one people, one oak, one list — the Serbian List, number 170,” Elek concluded.

Marija Stević Emphasizes Collective Fight to Preserve Education and Healthcare in Gračanica

Marija Stević, candidate for the Gračanica Municipal Assembly, highlighted the shared struggle to protect the educational and healthcare systems.

“Tonight, I stand proudly before you, proud to be part of you, proud to belong to this people, and proud to live and work in heavenly Gračanica. As much as I feel pride, I feel even more defiance toward everything happening to us and toward those who would deny us the right to work, the right to healthcare, the right to life, and toward those who would take Gračanica from us. Those who would silence school bells, who would prevent singing for Saint Sava in schools, who would suppress the cries of newborn babies in Gračanica — from here we send the message that the bells of Gračanica have never fallen silent and will continue to ring for centuries to come, just as they have for many centuries past. We are here to fight together and defend, and we can do that only united, only in solidarity, only under the banner of the Serbian List, the only list working in the interests of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija,” Stević said.

ustupljene fotografije

She added that, as a doctor educated at the University of Pristina, learning from the best and working with the best, she knows well what it means when the system functions properly.

“I know well what it is like to serve our babies and mothers, our schoolchildren, and our pensioners, and I know, just as you do, how painful it is when what belongs to us is taken away. My people, they cannot take everything from us by force, and it is even harder for them to force upon us what we do not want. We do not want a different system in education and healthcare. We are part of the system of the Republic of Serbia, which educates and employs us, part of the motherland’s system, and to all those who call us to some painless integration, we Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija say we do not trust them.

My people, Miholjdan in the year of our Lord 2025, Sunday, October 12, is the day we must tell them all of this, loudly, so the whole world hears. And we do this with one action — by going to the polls and marking number 170. A vote for the Serbian List is a vote for every one of our children, for their future. A vote for the Serbian List is a vote for our students and pensioners, for every mother raising children in Kosovo and Metohija. A vote for the Serbian List is a vote for the future. Long live the Serbian people, long live the Serbian List, long live Gračanica,” Stević emphasized.

Dejan Božidarević, Serb List candidate for the Gračanica Municipal Assembly, stated that the regime in Pristina is dismantling everything Serbian with the silent approval of the international community.

ustupljene fotografije

“We have gathered here tonight for an idea much greater than politics — that idea is the defense of freedom, rights, and justice for all Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Dark clouds hang over our sky, and the crows are multiplying. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that we have faced hardship. Throughout history, the Serbian people have often confronted great suffering, yet always rose from the ashes, resurrected, and returned to this sacred Kosovo land stronger and more determined to remain and endure. Today, we fight a battle of the modern age: the regime in Pristina is destroying everything Serbian with the blind, deaf, and mute international community, as well as some unfortunate and lost among us who, sadly, do not know what they are doing. They are pressing us to a dangerous phase, but that dangerous phase is perilous for them themselves. The more they pressure us, the more united, determined, and stubborn we become in fighting as one for the most sacred things we have — our families and our right to live freely,” said Božidarević.

Srđan Popović, head of the Kosovo District, emphasized that Gračanica has always been a symbol of resistance.

ustupljene fotografije

“It is an honor for me to stand here today before you in our sacred Gračanica, from where our identity and culture originate. Gračanica has always been a symbol of resistance and will certainly be so on October 12. We all know the hardships we have faced since 1999 — the fears, the kidnappings, the killings, how much our people have endured. No one could have believed that in 2025 we would once again face many challenges, living on the margins of life, and that this pressure would persist, now unfortunately even institutional. Our ancestors endured many difficult periods centuries ago. They would gather, discuss unity, and build it when times were hardest. Today, it is our turn — it is our generation’s turn to show strength and demonstrate just how important Gračanica is,” Popović said.

As he added, the intention from the very beginning has been to ban the Serbian List, but it is necessary, he noted, for the Serbian resolve and determination to come into play.

ustupljene fotografije

“You can see for yourselves that from the very beginning they wanted to ban the Serbian List. Then they banned our campaign spot, prohibited its broadcast, and filled the voter lists with Albanians who do not live in our municipality. Finally, they united — I know they cannot coordinate at the central level, but here in Gračanica, they came together for only one reason: to take our Gračanica from us. What our people must do is let the Serbian resolve awaken and simply show everyone that we will not give up our Gračanica. We need to demonstrate, together, how much Gračanica means to us and that in 2025, and for many centuries to come, Serbs will continue to live here.

On our list, we have chosen honorable and honest people as our council candidates. We selected them carefully, and I believe these individuals will ensure that our voice is heard, not only in the municipality but everywhere else. Likewise, with us is our mayoral candidate, Novak Živić, one of us — a man who stood by us in both sorrow and joy. He is one of us, and that is why on the 12th, we must all, together, call our neighbors, friends, and relatives to go out and vote and achieve the greatest possible victory to date,” Popović said.

ustupljene fotografije

The Director of the National Library in Gračanica, Brankica Kostić, stated that the people expect the Serbian List candidates to be fighters against oppression, injustice, and lawlessness.

“We believe in you, and we are all the Serbian List. We believe because the entire Republic of Serbia believes, we believe in Serbia, in President Vučić. And we will seal this commitment on October 12 at the polls — Serbian List, number 170, in the name of the future mayor Novak Živić, and for the Serbian people. For survival, long live Serbia,” Kostić declared.

The Serbian List convention, which concluded in the municipality of Gračanica, was attended by a large number of the party’s supporters.