Kosovo Holds Nationwide Elections

More than 1,700,000 voters in Kosovo have the right to head to polling stations today to elect their new members of parliament. The elections are being held in 798 polling centres in all 38 municipalities.

Valmir Elezi, spokesperson of the Central Election Commission, CEC, said the CEC had made all necessary preparations, "although the commission has had little time to prepare for the elections”.

The elections follow an intense ten-day campaign, the shortest in the history of Kosovo, where the campaigns normally last from 30 up to 45 days.

Some 30 parties with a total of 1,235 candidates are running for the June 8 polls.

Parties have been campaigning with programs focusing on the economy, creating more jobs and on improving the health and education system.

A tough competition is expected between the two main parties, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and Isa Mustafa’s Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK.

The nationalistic Vetevendosje movement is expected to win more votes than it did in the last elections in 2010, when it gained gained 12.69 per cent.

For the first time since the end of the conflict in Kosovo in the late 1990s, Serbs living in the northern part of Kosovo are participating in national polls organized by authorities in Pristina.

Prior to the elections, the Serbs established a united Belgrade-backed lits, called Srpska.

While relatively few in number, with a united stance in parliament the Serbs could yet wield significant influence on the government of Kosovo, a state that many of them do not recognize.

The refusal of Serbs to accept Kosovo’s statehood is likely to reflect the way they will be voting.

Office for Kosovo Director Marko Duric...