Tue, Feb 09 2010

Major parties claim victories in Kosovo local elections

Mon, Nov 16 2009 12:58 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 1483 Views
Major parties claim victories in Kosovo local elections

Kosovo's prime minister Hashim Thaci casts his vote at a polling station in Pristina, November 15 2009.

Major parties claim victories in Kosovo local elections

Kosovo's president Fatmir Sejdiu at a polling station in Pristina, November 15 2009.

Unofficial results in Kosovo’s November 15 2009 local elections indicated that a number of municipalities could see second rounds of voting, while claims of victory included prime minister Hashim Thaci saying that his Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) had won 20 out of 36 municipalities, while president Fatmir Sejdiu’s Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said it had won the mayoral election in Pristina.
 
The local elections were the first since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
 
Voter turnout was estimated at 45 per cent, with a major issue having been the question of participation of ethnic Serbs in the voting. Media reports indicated that a minority of this minority had responded to the Kosovo government’s urging not to boycott the local elections, but in some areas, turnout by ethnic Serbs appeared to be close to zero.
 
A total of 74 political parties and civic groups took part in the elections. Official results were expected some time on November 16.
 
In the capital, Pristina, it was not expected that voting would go to a second round, but media reports and NGOs suggested that a further round of voting would be necessary in most municipalities.
 
While it had been expected that the PDK and LDK would do well in the elections, initial reports indicated that the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) had taken the majority in about 16 municipalities.
 
Kosovo media reported the US ambassador, Christopher Dell, as having urged people to turn out to vote.
 
Serbia, which insists that Kosovo’s self-declared independence was illegal, consequently rejects the local elections as illegitimate.
 
The BBC said that the vote was seen as a crucial test of the democratic credentials of Kosovo's young government, and observers are expected to give their verdict on whether polling met international standards - a crucial goal in Kosovo's search for wider recognition.
 
It has so far been recognised by 63 out of 192 UN members, and if the election is deemed to have been free and fair, that figure may increase, the BBC said.
 

Write comment

Name:Comment:

Generate new code
Send your comment

By posting a comment, you are deemed to have read and agreed to our
Acceptable Use Policy.

Kosovo’s governing coalition breaks up – reports

Parties that governed together in Pristina fall out because of their battle in Kosovo’s local government elections.

Kosovo elections praised by allies, slammed by Serbia

While the US, UK and Swedish presidency of the EU praise the conduct of Kosovo’s first local elections since its self-declared independence, Belgrade slams the vote as illegitimate.

More in this category

European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry: Greece must get its act together

Gunter Verheugen: Greek government to take urgent measures and resolve the ongoing border crisis between the countries caused by protesting farmers

New turn in Greek Bulgarian border blockade saga

Out of favour with her own constituents, Greek agriculture minister Katerina Batzeli is to meet representatives of the farmers blockading the Bulgarian border.

Massive flight of capital out of Greece

Super-rich have taken huge sums out of the country in the wake of slump and pending deficit reduction measures

Romania agrees to host new US missile shield system

In Bucharest, the supreme defence council has agreed to the Obama’s administration proposal and negotiations on details are to follow; the Kremlin says it will comment on February 5.

Greek customs officers, tax officials go on strike

Voicing their discontent against the Greek government's austerity programme, meant to tackle deficit and public debt, Greek customs officers and tax collectors have gone on strike.

© 2000-2010, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.