High turnout, varied results expected in Kosovo vote

Almost 60% of registered voters are expected to turn out for Saturday's election. Concerns about the province's status are prompting plans to form a new government quickly.

Kosovo citizens head to the polls on Saturday (November 17th) to vote in parliamentary and local elections. More than 95 candidates and political entities have been campaigning since October 26th.
On Tuesday, Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker applauded the campaigning conducted so far.

Results are expected to vary -- no party is expected to win more the 35% of the vote in the parliamentary elections. As the process for determining the province's final status enters a decisive phase, the need to rapidly form a new government is becoming more crucial.

Kosovo's ruling coalition is currently composed of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) -- late President Ibrahim Rugova's party -- and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) -- the party of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who is currently on trial at The Hague war crimes tribunal.

LDK Vice-President Eqrem Kryeziu insists the party will win most of the votes. "If we don't get at least 40%, I'll resign," he said. However, according to polls, the LDK is not likely to repeat the current format of coalition. Following Rugova's death last year, the party lost its lead.

According to a November 6th poll by Index Kosova, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is expected to win 31% of the vote, with LDK expected to get 29%. The Alliance for New Kosovo (AKR) is expected to follow with 16%, AAK 9%, LDD 8% and ORA 5%.

With these numbers, PDK President Hashim Thaci -- the only politician publicly running for prime minister -- can take the lead role in forming a coalition. The most likely outcome is for Thaci to join forces with LDK -- as the PDK is not expected to win enough votes to form a ruling leadership with smaller parties.

Thaci has said he is prepared to lead the country towards independence. "We will declare independence soon after December 10th," Thaci said, noting that the province has backing from Western powers.

More than 1.4 million voters are registered to vote in Saturday's elections. Turnout is expected to be around 60% -- 7% more than the 2004 parliamentary elections. The jump is due to final status concerns.

Voting procedures in the province have changed -- the local and parliamentary elections are being held together, and for the first time, voters can choose on open lists for the parties' candidates for parliament and local assemblies. On Tuesday, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo held a special seminar to educate the public on voting procedures.

An ongoing stumbling block has been repeated calls from Serbia for Kosovo Serbs to boycott the elections. Among the certified candidates, 32 are from the Serbian minority.

Central Election Commission spokesperson Arianit Osmani said there is information that Belgrade has threatened Serb communities that participate.

On Tuesday, the radical Vetevendosja (Self-determination) movement called on voters to boycott the election, saying their votes will be used to boost the ambitions of individual politicians rather than the province. (SETimes)