Kosovo's PM Thaci Claims Victory in Historic Elections

World | December 13, 2010, Monday // 09:53
Bulgaria: Kosovo's PM Thaci Claims Victory in Historic Elections Kosovo's PM Hashim Thaci has won 31% of the votes, according to the exit polls. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Kosovo’s PM Hashim Thaci has claimed victory in the first parliamentary elections since the country unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, the BBC informed.

The exit polls showed that Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won 31% of the vote, followed by its main rival and former coalition partner, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 25% and the newcomer Self-Determination Party with 16%.

If the results of the poll are confirmed, Thaci will need support from other parties in order to form a government.

The Kosovo’s PM addressed his supporters and said that his party had won “a major victory.”

“Today, the will of Kosovo citizens spoke and decided clearly, today European Kosovo spoke, today Euro-Atlantic Kosovo spoke,” Thaci said, as cited by the BBC.

According to the Central Election Commission, the overall turnout was 48%, compared to 40% at the elections in 2007.

The commission’s head, Valdete Daka, the elections had been a success.

“There have been technical hitches that have not hurt the process,” she said, as cited by the BBC.

The ethnic Albanian majority and small Serb minority remain largely estranged in Kosovo, more than a decade after a NATO-led conflict broke Serbia’s control.

Belgrade has not recognized Kosovo’s independence and most Serbs were expected to boycott the elections.

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Tags: kosovo, Serbia, Hashim Thaci, elections

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