Pristina - Final results of November 11 parliamentary polls
in Kosovo were announced Monday, confirming the victory of the former
rebel leader Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).
The PDK won 37 of the 120 seats in the Kosovo assembly, which is
expected to declare independence of the province from Serbia within a
few months. A 48-hour deadline for appeals would expire Wednesday,
after which there can be no changes to the declared outcome.
Kosovar voters, 90 per cent of whom are ethnic Albanians,
relegated Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu's Democratic League of
Kosovo (LDK) to second place with 25 seats.
The LDK, founded by the late Kosovo Albanian independence icon
Ibrahim Rugova, was punished for failing to lead the province to
statehood as it had promised.
It may yet remain in power as the junior partner in a grand
coalition, anticipated by many local observers in light of
significant pending decisions.
A deadline for a compromise on Kosovo's status between Belgrade
and Pristina expires on December 10, after which the province may
unilaterally declare a break from Serbia.
The newcomer Alliance New Kosovo (AKR), founded in 2006 by
millionaire businessman Behgjet Pacolli, claimed 13 seats in its
first-ever elections.
The Democratic League of Dardania (LDD) has 11 seats, one more
than the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of former
premier Ramush Haradinaj, now defendant in a UN war crimes trial.
Overall, Albanian parties won 96 of the 100 seats that were
directly contested in the poll, owing to an election boycott by the
Serbs who steered clear of polling stations on orders from Belgrade.
As in the vote three years ago, by boycotting the Serbs gave up
their estimated 11 per cent share of the vote, translating to around
12 seats on top of the 10 reserved for them as a minority.
An additional 10 seats was reserved for other minorities in
Kosovo, such as Turks, Egyptians and Roma. The Turks and Roma also
won an additional four seats from the directly contested 100.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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