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B92 (Serbia)
November 17, 2007
Voting finishes in Kosovo, Serbs stage boycott
-In northern Kosovo, only five of 40,000 Serbs
eligible have voted today.
-President Boris Tadic said it was "impossible to
comprehend" that a Hague indictee could participate in
elections in Kosovo.
"I don't understand this, it goes contrary to reason,"
Tadic told a Russian television in an interview
Saturday.
-Ramush Haradinaj, a former KLA leader, now topping
the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo election list,
is also standing trial at the UN court charged with
1998 war crimes against Serb, Albanian and Roma
civilians. The indictment alleges kidnapping, illegal
imprisonment, torture and murder.
-Kosovo has the highest birthrate in Europe, of over
2.5 percent, an economy where per capita GDP is
estimated at USD 1,500, and unemployment rate which
different studies put at between 30 and 50 percent.
PRIŠTINA - Polling stations have closed in Kosovo
today; unofficial turnout figure at between 40 and 45
percent.
The fifth elections since the arrival of international
peace-keeping forces in the province in 1999, and the
first to be held using proportional representation
with open ballot papers, have recorded up to 45
percent voter turnout, according to unofficial data
released by parties.
Around 1.5 million residents were eligible to vote in
assembly and local elections at some 2,200 polling
stations throughout the province. No significant
irregularities or incidents were reported.
In northern Kosovo, only five of 40,000 Serbs eligible
have voted today.
In the central enclaves the turnout was somewhat
higher, but still extremely low, with three percent of
the 5,000 Serbs registered in Graèanica, Priština and
several other nearby villages voting by 5 p.m.
Serbs are entitled to 10 deputies in the future Kosovo
assembly.
While UNMIK officials expressed their disappointment
with the decision taken by the vast majority of Serbs
to ignore today's elections, those Serbs who spoke to
reporters about their decision stressed they did not
wish to legitimize claims that Kosovo is a multiethnic
society, while their rights are violated on a daily
bases, and many of them cannot return to their homes
and property in other parts of the province.
And while Kosovo Albanian leaders who voted today
hailed the elections as historic in relations to the
province's future status and important for its
democratic development, urging high voter turnout and
stressing its importance, official Belgrade was
clearly upset with the fact some Hague Tribunal war
crimes indictees took part in the process.
President Boris Tadiæ said it was "impossible to
comprehend" that a Hague indictee could participate in
elections in Kosovo.
"I don't understand this, it goes contrary to reason,"
Tadiæ told a Russian television in an interview
Saturday.
"Can you imagine one of our citizens indicted by the
Hague taking part in Serbian elections," Tadiæ said.
Ramush Haradinaj, a former KLA leader, now topping the
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo election list, is
also standing trial at the UN court charged with 1998
war crimes against Serb, Albanian and Roma civilians.
The indictment alleges kidnapping, illegal
imprisonment, torture and murder.
Representatives from the Central Electoral Commission
and the OSCE mission to Kosovo stated earlier that all
the necessary preparations had been carried out in an
extremely short period of time to ensure that the
elections run smoothly.
In a statement to the media ahead of today’s
elections, UNMIK Chief Joachim Ruecker called on the
citizens to come out in their masses.
“I’d like to see a big turnout as we’re at a decisive
period, when leaders need to be legitimized once more
by the people that they’re accountable to,” said
Ruecker.
KFOR troops and the police have also been undergoing
rigorous preparations in order to guarantee security
and prevent any possible incidents. KFOR’s French
commander, Xavier Bout de Marnhac, said that all the
necessary measures had been taken to guarantee the
safety of voters at polling stations.
“You won’t be able to see KFOR uniforms near polling
stations because I don't think these are places for
uniforms, though KFOR will certainly be on the ground,
and also in locations close to polling stations,” said
de Marnhac.
Election results are expected in the next two or three
days. A bloc of NGOs, following the elections via its
monitors, will announce the first unofficial results
as soon as polling stations close at 7 p.m.
Today's elections were monitored by some 400
international monitors, 250 from the Council of
Europe, and close to 25,000 local observers.
DPA reports an estimate that the province currently
has 2.1 million residents, 92 percent of which ethnic
Albanians, 5.3 percent Serbs.
Kosovo has the highest birthrate in Europe, of over
2.5 percent, an economy where per capita GDP is
estimated at USD 1,500, and unemployment rate which
different studies put at between 30 and 50 percent.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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