PRISTINA, Oct 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The former guerilla commanders who have dominated Kosovo since its independence will fight for political survival in elections on Sunday, with opposition parties threatening to boot them from power.
The poll is the fourth since tiny Kosovo formally broke away from Serbia
in 2008.
Kosovo’s leading men — President Hashim Thaci and ex-prime minister
Ramush Haradinaj — both hail from the rebel group that battled Serb forces in 1998-99, paving the way for independence.
Two decades later, they have failed to secure full global acceptance of
Kosovo’s statehood.
Belgrade and its allies, chiefly Russia and China, deny Kosovo’s
independence and have blocked it from a seat in the UN.
The picture is also bleak at home, where around a third of the population
is unemployed.
On Sunday, two leading opposition parties hope to capitalise on public
anger with the status quo.
The centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is being led by Vjosa
Osmani, a 37-year-old law professor who hopes to become the first woman to lead Kosovo as Prime Minister.
The other, 44-year-old Albin Kurti of the Vetevendosje party, is a leftist
politician with a history of radical antics in parliament, including
unleashing tear gas in the assembly.
One of the poorest parts of Europe, Kosovo has outdated infrastructure, a
host of environmental woes and huge emigration rates, particularly to Germany and Switzerland.
Despite repeated promises from politicians, Kosovars are also the only
people in the Balkans who still need a visa to enter the European Union — an acute source of frustration for many.
Kosovo’s Serb minority — whose status remains a major sticking point in
frozen talks between Pristina and Belgrade — will also vote for their
allotted 10 representatives in parliament.
Around 120,000 Serbs still live in overwhelmingly Albanian Kosovo, though
many consider themselves loyal to Belgrade.
Polls open at 7:00 am local time (0500 GMT) and will close at 7:00 pm
(1700 GMT).
Around 1.9 million people, including those in the diaspora, are registered
to vote. — NNN-AGENCIES
