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UÇKHistory and Memory

26–30 September 1991 · 1989–1995

The independence referendum

From 26 to 30 September 1991 Kosovo Albanians held an unofficial referendum on Kosovo as a sovereign, independent state, often voting in private homes to avoid the police. Belgrade did not recognise it; only Albania did.
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.Before the warPoliticsPeaceful resistance

Editorial status: Awaiting verificationDrafted from the cited sources; not yet fully reviewed by the editors.

Key facts

Date
26–30 September 1991
Place
Unknown
Sources
4
Evidence status
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.

According to the organisers' figures, reprinted in the diaspora press, turnout was 87.01% and 99.87% voted in favour [1]; Rugova told the ICTY that “98 or 99 per cent” were in favour [2]. These figures were never independently verified.

Sources

  1. [1]Behlul Jashari. Kosova para 29 viteve në Referendum për Pavarësi. Dielli | The Sun, 2020-09-26. https://gazetadielli.com/kosova-para-29-viteve-ne-referendum-per-pavaresi-rezultati-pro-9987-per-qind/. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. [2]Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY). Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milošević, Transcript, 3 May 2002 (testimony of Ibrahim Rugova). 2002-05-03. IT-02-54. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/trans/en/020503IT.htm. Accessed 2026-09-16. — T. 4194
  3. [3]Helsinki Watch (Human Rights Watch). Yugoslavia: Human Rights Abuses in Kosovo 1990–1992. 1992-10. https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/y/yugoslav/yugo92o.pdf. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. [4]Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward. Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo. 2001-10-26. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/kosovo/. Accessed 2026-09-16.

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