Kosovo authorities detained several officials linked to Serbia-backed institutions in the Serb-majority municipality of Gračanica on May 19, triggering protests and deepening tensions ahead of Kosovo’s snap parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7.

Kosovo’s acting Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla said seven Serbian nationals were arrested on suspicion of “threats, pressure and blackmail” aimed at influencing voters in favour of the Belgrade-backed Serbian List party, according to Gazeta Express

The arrests followed accusations by acting minister Nenad Rašić, leader of the Serb minority party “For Freedom, Justice and Survival”, who alleged systematic intimidation of Serb voters and pressure on public employees ahead of the elections.

Sveçla said the actions targeted “citizens of the Serbian community in Kosovo” and were allegedly directed by Serbia in a manner that “violates political pluralism and the democratic order in our country.”

The prosecution office in Pristina confirmed that five people had initially been detained on suspicion of “violating the free will of voters in Gračanica.”

The move prompted demonstrations in Gračanica on May 20, when around 300 Serbs, most employed by institutions financed by the Serbian state, gathered outside the local police station in support of the detained school and healthcare administrators, according to KosServ.

Representatives of the Municipality of Gračanica operating under Kosovo’s institutional framework also attended the gathering separately, including municipal president Novak Živić and several local officials.

The dispute comes amid growing competition within Kosovo’s Serb political scene, traditionally dominated by the Serbian List, which maintains close ties with Belgrade.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on May 18 that several employees in Serbia-run healthcare and education institutions in Kosovo claimed they had lost their jobs because they did not support the Serbian List but instead backed Rašić’s party.

According to the report, some had worked for decades in Serbian-funded public institutions operating in Kosovo.

Rašić stated during a Kosovo government meeting on May 14 that around 20 of his supporters had already been dismissed and that another 40 dismissals were expected in Gračanica alone.

He also alleged that supporters of his party were being questioned by Serbia’s Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA) at border crossings with Serbia about how they intended to vote in the June 7 elections.