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Elections in Kosovo

June 8, 2014

Kosovo is voting in snap parliamentary polls, amid dissatisfaction with corruption and unemployment. Incumbent Hashim Thaci is seeking a third term as prime minister, but faces a tough fight from the opposition.

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Hashim Thaci
Image: Reuters

Sunday's election is a key step in an EU-brokered deal aimed at normalizing ties between Kosovo's Albanian majority and Serb minority populations.

Although the Serb minority community had originally vowed to boycott the polls, they relented under pressure from Belgrade and agreed to participate. Kosovo's 120,000 Serbs have largely refused to recognize Pristina's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.

The snap elections were called in May after minority Serb lawmakers blocked a vote on establishing a national army.

Municipal elections last November were marred by an attack on a polling station in the Serb-majority city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo. NATO still has more than 4,000 troops deployed in Kosovo to keep the peace, part of a mission called Kosovo Force (KFOR).

'New Mission'

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has sought to woo voters with a program called the "New Mission," promising 1.5 billion euros in investment and 200,000 new jobs for a country with 35 percent unemployment and rampant poverty.

"We have successfully closed two important chapters for our country: independence and freedom," Thaci said. He oversaw Kosovo's disputed declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008.

"Now we must lead the third battle: economic development, creation of new jobs and enhancing social well-being," he continued.

But the political opposition and independent analysts have called Thaci's promises outrageous.

"Kosovo would need to have at least 20 percent annual growth, seven times more than it registered during (Thaci's) previous mandates," economic analyst Lumir Abdixhiku told the AFP news agency.

Rampant corruption

Members of Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) have been accused of having connections to organized crime and enriching themselves. According to Transparency International, Kosovo ranked 111th in its 2013 corruption index.

A former guerrilla, Thaci ran the political wing of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 war with Serbia.

A special EU task force is currently investigating allegations that the KLA harvested and trafficked organs from Serb prisoners during the war. A 2011 report by the Council of Europe implicated Thaci and four other high-ranking members of the PDK.

Close race predicted

With no reliable pre-election polling, it's unclear who will come out on top on Sunday. But some observers believe it will be the closest race in years.

"The result of this election is the most uncertain of any election so far in Kosovo," political analyst Astrit Gashi told the Reuters news agency.

Thaci's PDK is facing off against the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the Self-Determination Movement, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.

slk/crh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)