POLITICS: Moderate Wins Kosovo Polls Independence Still Far Away

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE, Nov 20 2001 (IPS) - Ethnic Albanians voted overwhelmingly for Ibrahim Rugova, moderate leader of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (DSK) in the province’s first elections held on Saturday, but independence from Serbia, analysts have warned, is still a distant dream.

The first official results of the elections, released by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), showed that Rugova’s DSK won 46.5 percent of votes, becoming the biggest single party in the future parliament of Kosovo.

The results were released on Monday, after 92 percent of votes were counted. The final results will be released by the weekend.

“This was a historic event for Kosovo,” Rugova said in Pristina, capital of southern Serbian province of Kosovo. “We take this opportunity once again to call for the formal recognition of the independence of Kosovo as soon as possible.”

But European Union (EU) urged Kosovo leaders to adhere to the UN Security Council resolution 1244, that granted autonomy for Kosovo, within a united Serbia.

“It will take all their (Kosovo leaders’) energy and creativity to ensure a prosperous and stable development of Kosovo which safeguards the interest of all communities,” said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in a statement.

Under the UN resolution 1244, Kosovo legally remains part of Serbia, although it has been under UN protectorate since June 1999, following 11 weeks of bombing by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

NATO carried out the air strikes to eject Serb troops from Kosovo where they were fighting ethnic Albanians in the province. Some two million Albanians live in Kosovo.

Rugova and his DSK led passive resistance to former Serbia President Slobodan Milosevic’s rule in the 1990s before more radical leaders began a guerrilla war that drew NATO into a direct role in the conflict.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) of Hashim Thaci and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of Ramush Haradinaj finished second and third respectively in the elections. DPK won 25.5 percent, while AAK got eight percent of votes. Nine percent went to “Povratak” (Return), a Serb coalition, while the rest went to small ethnic Albanian movements.

OSCE said the vote had been peaceful and orderly, with the turnout of around 65 percent of 1.25 million eligible voters.

Besides a million ethnic Albanian voters, around 177,000 Kosovo Serbs were registered for the polls.

Povratak will have 21 seats in the parliament, while 10 seats have been reserved for minorities. The rest were up for grab.

Rugova’s DSK will not have an absolute majority in the 120- member assembly and will make coalition with AAK to form a government. The parliament will elect the president of Kosovo, a ceremonial figure, who will be Rugova.

Well-placed sources in Pristina told IPS that AAK leader, Haradinaj is most likely to be elected the prime minister of Kosovo.

Under the election law, drafted by the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the government will deal with budgetary, health, social welfare and educational issues. Judicial affairs, law enforcement and foreign affairs will remain the responsibility of the international community.

Most local media have praised the elections as a step towards independence. Rugova’s “Bota Sot” said the international community should understand that “Kosovo’s independence is only a step away from being achieved”.

Only the independent daily “Koha Ditore” noted that “the first, free and democratic elections have brought Kosovo closer to Europe”, without mentioning the fervent independent drive for the province.

The new administration in Belgrade, which took over in Oct 2000, after decade-long rule of Milosevic, welcomed the results of Kosovo elections. In the past year, they made a U-turn compared to the confrontational politics of Milosevic, whose administration refused to co-operate with UNMIK.

Following calls by the new Serbia government and Patriarch of Serb Orthodox Church, Pavle, Serbs voted in the Kosovo elections.

Only a few thousand Serbs still live in Kosovo, while more than 200,000 fled in 1999, fearing revenge by some 800,000 ethnic Albanians expelled from the province by Milosevic’s security forces at the time of NATO air raids.

In the weekend elections, Serbs voted either in Kosovo or in exile, in Serbia.

President Vojislav Kostunica praised Kosovo Serbs for their “wise decision” to participate in the elections “that will make their voices heard in Kosovo”. Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic sent a cable of congratulations to Rugova.

UNMIK chief, Hans Haekkerup, told journalists in Pristina that the co-operation between UNMIK and Belgrade in Kosovo will continue after the elections.

Belgrade analyst Zoran Lutovac said the participation of Serbs in the elections “gave symbolic meaning to the multiethnic concept of Kosovo society, so much wanted by the international community and UNMIK”.

“Besides the hope that Kosovo could build a multiethnic society, it is important that Serbs will have a chance to participate in decision making, with the possibility of putting pressure or controlling the developments in Kosovo,” Lutovac said, adding that: “It’s a step forward.”