MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 GJILAN/GNJILANE REGION
ŠTRPCE/SHTËRPCË MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 ŠTRPCE/SHTËRPCË The OSCE regional centre Gjilan/Gnjilane covers 11 municipalities, including Štrpce/Shtërpcë, and has teams working in all of them.
AREA AND POPULATION 247 km² area The municipality of Štrpce/Shtërpcë is located in the south- eastern part of Kosovo covering an area of approximately 247 16 villages km² and includes Štrpce/Shtërpcë town and 16 villages. According to the 2011 Kosovo Population and Housing Census, 6,949 population the total population is 6,949.
Ethnic composition According to the census conducted in 1991*, there were 4,300 Kosovo Albanians, 8,138 Kosovo Serbs and 17 Kosovo 1.Kosovo Albanians 3,757 Montenegrins in the municipality. There is no data from the 2.Kosovo Serbs 3,148 census conducted in 1981, as Štrpce/Shtërpcë was not a 3.Kosovo Roma 24 separate municipality at that time. 4.Kosovo Bosniaks 2 5.Kosovo Ashkali 1 According to the UNHCR statistics, 961 displaced persons have 6.Other 7 returned to the municipality since 1999, of them 517 Kosovo 7.Not specified 10 Serbs, one (1) Kosovo Roma and 443 Kosovo Albanians.
(source: Kosovo Agency of Statistics) *The 1991 census is not accepted by Kosovo Albanians as legitimate.
GOVERNING STRUCTURES AND POLITICAL OVERVIEW The total number of voters in Štrpce/Shtërpcë municipality registered for the municipal elections held in October is 13,7811, voters including out-of-Kosovo voters. The voter turnout was 57.22% or 7,886 voters (source: Central Election Commission).
The 2017 municipal assembly election results were as follows: The current seat distribution is as follows:
74.04% SL Serbian List 11 seats 12.98% ISHS Albanian Initiative for Syrinikë 2 seats 12.98% PDK Democratic Party of Kosovo 2 seats
1. The overall population figure presented above is taken from the 2011 census (or authoritative estimates where the census figure is not available), whereas the voters list is a reflection of all people with a civil registration entry in the municipality. In some cases, the voters list figure is higher than or similar to the overall population number due to insufficient updating of the civil registry or a significant proportion of people registered in the municipality but actually living elsewhere or abroad. ŠTRPCE/SHTËRPCË
MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 LEGISLATIVE ECONOMY € The Municipal Assembly has 15 seats distributed among three The economy of Štrpce/Shtërpcë is predominantly based on (3) political entities, 11 members are Kosovo Serb and four (4) agriculture, mainly raspberry production, tourism, and small are Kosovo Albanian; eight (8) are women. The Municipal businesses. The approximate number of registered private Assembly Chairperson is Predrag Grbić (SL) and the Deputy businesses is 167. There are no exact data on the number of Municipal Assembly Chairperson for Communities is Garip Sahiti employees in the private sector (source: municipal directorate of (PDK)*. economic development, tourism, agriculture and forestry).
*According to the Law on Local Self-Government, a municipality with more than ten (10) per cent of residents belonging to communities in numerical minority position in that municipality is required to appoint a deputy mayor for communities and a deputy municipal PUBLIC SERVICES assembly chairperson for communities.
Infrastructure EXECUTIVE The overall status of infrastructure in the municipality is assessed as good. All the main roads connecting villages with the Structure of municipal executive and the executive's political urban centre are asphalted. Water supply and sewage systems affiliations. are connected to the households in most of the villages. Since The municipality is headed by Mayor Bratislav Nikolić (SL), re- August 2009, power supply has been improved, as residents elected for his third term as mayor with 73.58% of votes in the have started paying electricity bills (source: municipal directorate of first round of the 2017 municipal elections. In the 2013 planning, reconstruction, and urban development). municipal elections, Mayor Nikolić won with 56.25 % of votes in the second round. Deputy Mayor is Ivica Tanasijević (SL) and Deputy Mayor for Communities is Fikri Hasani (PDK). Health There are eight (8) municipal departments. Seven (7) The primary health care system currently includes one (1) departments are run by men directors: general administration municipal family health centre located in Štrpce/Shtërpcë town (PDK); budget and finance (SL); health and social welfare (LDK); and seven (7) health houses in both Kosovo Serb and Kosovo emergency and public services (SL); education, youth, culture Albanian villages. The health sector has 22 employees, including and sport (SL); planning, reconstruction and urban development doctors, nurses and support staff that work under the Kosovo (SL); and economic development, tourism, agriculture and system; ten (10) women and 12 men. Approximately 200 staff forestry (SL), one (1) director is not yet appointed: geodesy, are working in the Serbia-run healthcare facilities in the cadastre and property. In the previous mandate (2013-2017), all municipality. directors were men (source: municipal information officer). All communities have access to health care and health facilities regardless of the system under which they operate (source: municipal directorate of health and social welfare). JUDICIARY Education The Basic Court of Ferizaj/Uroševac has a branch in Štrpce/Shtërpcë with two (2) judges, one (1) is Kosovo Bosniak There are six (6) primary schools and two (2) secondary schools and one (1) is Kosovo Gorani; one (1) woman and one (1) man. with 2,500 pupils and 244 teachers, of them three (3) primary and one (1) secondary schools follow Serbian curriculum, and The Ferizaj/Uroševac Basic Prosecutor's Office covers the one (1) kindergarten with 95 children and seven (7) teachers in municipality (source: Ferizaj/Uroševac Basic Court). Štrpce/Shtërpcë town (source: municipal directorate of education, youth, culture and sport).
SECURITY PRESENCE
The Kosovo Police station in Štrpce/Shtërpcë municipality has 61 police officers, 52 are Kosovo Serb and nine (9) are Kosovo Albanian; seven (7) are women.
As for the international military presence, US KFOR covers the area (source: Kosovo Police). ŠTRPCE/SHTËRPCË
MUNICIPAL PROFILE 2018 RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL SITES KEY FACTS Štrpce/Shtërpcë has five (5) mosques, all of which are in use. There are 16 Serbian Orthodox churches, none of them was In Štrpce/Shtërpcë there are: destroyed or damaged in either 1999 conflict or March 2004 riots, most of them are in use. Five (5) Serbian Orthodox churches • 15 seats in the municipal assembly in the municipality are listed as Special Protective Zones, the Church of St. Nicholas in Štrpce/Shtërpcë town, the Church of St. distributed among 3 political entities Theodore in Biti e Poshtme/Donja Bitinja village, the Church of St. Nicholas in Gotovushë/Gotovuša village, the Church of the Holy • 61 police officers Virgin in Gotovushë/Gotovuša village, and the Church of St. George in Biti e Epërme/Gornja Bitinja village. • 2 judges
A total of ten (10) cultural heritage sites (four (4) archaeological • 251 teachers in 6 primary and 2 secondary and six (6) architectural) in Štrpce/Shtërpcë municipality are schools and 1 kindergarten included in the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport list of sites under permanent/temporary protection.