[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Kosovo's likely next PM needs coalition

By NEBI QENA, Associated Press Writer

Sun Nov 18, 6:52 PM ET



Former rebel leader turned politician Hashim Thaci, gives the thumbs up in a sign of victory after he declared himself winner, based on unofficial preliminary results, in parliamentary elections in the capital Pristina early Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007. A former rebel leader who has promised to declare Kosovo's independence if mediation efforts fail declared victory for his party in a parliamentary election held Saturday. With most votes counted, opposition leader Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo led with 35 percent, according to an unofficial tally by Democracy in Action, a coalition of monitoring groups. The Democratic League of Kosovo, traditionally the province's largest political bloc, trailed with 22 percent. Official results were expected Monday. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)


PRISTINA, Serbia - A former rebel leader who says he will declare independence from Serbia next month is likely to become Kosovo's next prime minister, but will have to strike a deal with a rival party after failing to win a majority, officials said Sunday.

Unofficial vote tallies from Saturday's parliamentary elections in the province gave ex-rebel Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo the lead with 34 percent of the vote. The League of Democratic Kosovo, or LDK — traditionally the province's largest political bloc — trailed with 22 percent. A senior official in Thaci's party told The Associated Press that a coalition with the late President Ibrahim Rugova's LDK was the most likely outcome — although an uneasy one because of a rivalry between the two parties. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue.

Thaci, once a leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army that fought Serbia in the 1998-99 war, often clashed with Rugova, a pacifist. Rugova's death in early 2006, however, split the LDK and weakened its performance in the elections.

Official preliminary results were not expected until late Monday, but the independent observers' tally showed voters strongly supported Thaci, who has pledged to deliver swift independence from Serbia. He declared victory shortly after midnight.

Thaci, 39, told the AP that if he becomes prime minister, Kosovo's leadership will declare independence from Serbia after Dec. 10 — the deadline for international mediators to report back to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on efforts to resolve the dispute over Kosovo's future status.

"Immediately after Dec. 10, Kosovo's institutions will declare the independence of Kosovo," Thaci said Saturday.

Decisions on Kosovo's status are made through a forum of ethnic Albanian leaders, who include the province's prime minister as well as opposition politicians. However, any declaration of independence has to be formally endorsed by the province's parliament.

Some of Kosovo's leaders have recently sought to move back from promises for an immediate declaration of independence if no deal is reached by the deadline. Instead, they are saying Kosovo will wait until after the mediators' report is delivered before considering when a declaration of independence might be made.

Serbia has warned that unilateral moves that curb its formal sovereignty over the province — such as declaring independence — would endanger the region's stability.

Two years of negotiations between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders and the Serbian government over the province's status have made little progress. The latest effort is being mediated by representatives from the United States, Russia and the European Union.

Saturday's vote was the third for the legislature since the province came under U.N. and NATO control in 1999, after the last in a string of wars that shattered the former Yugoslavia.

Ethnic Albanians have watched with increasing skepticism as their leaders have failed to achieve independence from Serbia. The economy, meanwhile, is in shambles, jobs are scarce and power outages are plentiful.

The Council of Europe said the elections were in line with European standards, but it was troubled by the low voter turnout of 43 percent.

"We are alarmed by the very low turnout and we have to ask ourselves why it is so low," said Doris Pack, a member of the council's 150-member monitoring team. She said it was a reflection of the population's disappointment with elected officials.

Kosovo's dwindling Serb minority also contributed to the low turnout by boycotting the vote — as in past elections — obeying calls from Serbia's leadership. Some Serb voters in ethnic Albanian-dominated areas turned up at polling stations, election observers said.

The United States criticized the Serb boycott.

"The United States deeply regrets the decision of Kosovo Serbs, encouraged by the government of Serbia, not to participate in these elections. Kosovo's Serb community can only be disadvantaged by this decision," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

[source]