Kosovo goes to the polls

In a bid to heal ethnic division and join the EU, citizens of Europe's youngest nation vote for new parliament. Last Modified: 12 Dec 2010 07:54 GMT

Tim Friend reports from Pristina on preparations for the parliamentary poll Voters in Kosovo are going to the polls in the territory's first parliamentary elections since its declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, but there are widespread doubts that the vote will heal ethnic divisions. As polling stations opened at 7 am (06:00 GMT) there were already dozens of people queuing to vote in central Pristina, mostly the elderly and people voting before going to work. Sunday's snap election comes after the coalition government of Hashim Thaci, the prime minister, failed a vote of no confidence on November 2. About 1.6 million people are eligible to vote for the 120-seat parliament and 29 political parties, coalitions and citizens' initiatives are taking part in the race. Ten of the parliamentary seats are reserved for minority Serbs, and the electoral commission said that eight of parties on the ballot represent the 120,000-strong community. Serb boycott However, most Serbs in Kosovo are expected to boycott the elections, heeding calls from Serbia's leaders, who still consider Kosovo part of their country. In the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica posters called on Serbs to boycott Sunday's election. "No to elections in the false state of Kosovo," one read. A post manned by Kosovo's Nato police force came under attack with small arms fire overnight in the predominantly-Serb north, according to Al Jazeera sources. A note was reportedly left at the scene saying: "This is only the beginning... Next time we will not shoot in vain. Do not bring election material here!" "This is the area of Kosovo where, if there was going to be a flahpoint, this was the likely spot," Al Jazeera's Tim Friend, reporting from Pristina, said. "Clearly an attempt, by perhaps Serbs, to ensure that the election does not run smoothly in this part of Kosovo." Thaci has called upon minority Serbs to break with tradition and vote, urging them to build a common future for all Kosovars. "I believe Kosovo citizens, institutions and people of Kosovo... will achieve high level standard of free and democratic elections," he said. Narrow lead The main contenders in the election are the two largest political parties, Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo and its former junior coalition partner, Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Polls favour Thaci's party to win the ballot but without a clear majority, indicating that he will likely be forced to seek a coalition partner. Belgrade has urged Serbs living in Kosovo not to take part in the vote [Reuters] His main rival, the LDK, enters the election bruised by a power struggle, while the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo is weakened because its leader, former fighter Ramush Haradinaj, is being retried on war crime charges by a UN tribunal. Turnout at the 2,280 polling stations could be key to the result: a low turnout is expected to favour Thaci while a high turnout could boost the opposition. Thaci has promised integration with the European Union and NATO military alliance, while also vowing to double the budget and raise civil servants' salaries by up to 50 per cent. The national unemployment rate is running at 48 per cent, according to the World Bank. More than 60 per cent of the Kosovo population is under 25 and youth unemployment stands at more than 70 per cent according to some estimates. "In everyone's minds now, I think, there is this sens that the economy does need to be addressed," Al Jazeera's Friend said. "The declaration of independence brought about a euphoric atmosphere but now the hard econoomic reality is being to impinge on people's lives again." Isa Mustafa, the LDK leader and mayor of Pristina, has run his campaign on a strong anti-corruption platform after a number of members of Thaci's party were tainted by scandal. The election campaign has also seen several newcomers, including Albin Kurti, a former student activist, whose Self-Determination movement advocates Kosovo's unification with Albania and rejects talks with Serbia. Kurti said he believed that the people had held "high expectations" about the declaration of independence but that only politicians had benefited. "People see that the main beneficiaries of this formal independence have been politicians not the citizens," he said. European hopes The rise in tensions between the majority ethnic Albanians and the minority Serbs could also cast doubts over upcoming EU-brokered talks between Kosovo and Serbia, called after the International Court of Justice ruled that Kosovo's independence did not violate international law. For majority ethnic Albanians, the ballot is held amid hopes that it will inch the struggling territory closer to eventual membership of the EU, even as the 27-member bloc shows a weakened resolve to take in new members dogged by the global financial crisis. The European Parliament mission to the territory urged all political parties to ensure a free and fair electoral process on Sunday. "It is fundamental for any democratic state and crucial for Kosovo's EU integration process," Doris Pack, the head of the mission, said. So far, around 70 countries have recognised Kosovo as an independent state, including the US and Japan. Five members of the EU have refused to recognise Kosovo as an independent state.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies