Democratic Party of Kosovo

During a joint meeting on Monday in Pristina between the governments of Kosovo and Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that he will personally submit a report to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg being prepared in Albania's parliament querying the Dick Marty report and what he alleged was its Russian influence.

Hundreds of ex-fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, gathered outside parliament from the early hours of the morning on Thursday, inside the legislature, opposition MPs blocked a vote on the bill that includes a proposed increase in the minimum wage, but not for veterans.

The pre-trial judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Nicolas Guillou, decided on Thursday that Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli should remain in detention ahead of their trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo.

Kosovo police used pepper spray against ex-fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA who tried to enter parliament on Monday during a protest to demand that war veterans be included in draft legislation that will guarantee a minimum wage.

In its latest annual report on trends in democracy, published on Wednesday, Freedom House alleged that two veteran political leaders in Kosovo, Hashim Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj, are among various powerful figures in the country who have criminal connections.

Kosovo's ruling Vetevendosje party suffered a heavy blow in Sunday's mayoral election runoffs, winning only four of the 12 municipalities it was competing in, and losing in the capital.

Political parties were on the final day of a shortened election campaign this Friday as Kosovo voters in more than half the country's municipalities prepared to vote on Sunday in the second round of mayoral elections.

The appeals chamber at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday rejected ex-President Hashim Thaci's plea for conditional release from pre-trial detention because there is still a risk that he might abscond.

In a blow after its meteoric rise eight months ago, Kosovo's ruling Vetevendosje party will have to wait for the second round of local elections to see whether it has won control of any of the country's 38 municipalities.

Kurti's party did badly even in the municipalities where it had more than 60 percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections in February.
That Kurti experienced a total debacle is shown by the fact that in 38 municipalities in which there were elections, he did not get a sufficient number of votes to win in the first round.