Πέμπτη 13 Ιανουαρίου 2011

PDK celebrates after revote in Kosovo


se times

10/01/2011
Turnout was lower than in the first round, and some political parties complain that not all went as it should.
By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 10/01/11


More than 52% of the voters in five municipalities in Kosovo cast their votes Sunday (January 9th), repeating the December 12th general elections due to irregularities.
Kosovo's Central Election Commission (CEC) confirmed a turnout of 34.5% in Decan, 58.6% in Gllogoc, 53.3% in Lipjan, 61.6% in Skenderaj and 36.3% in Malisheva. The turnout was lower than in the first round.
According to figures released by the CEC on Monday, which include valid results from December 12th and from Sunday's limited revote, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won 32%, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) got 24.7%, Vetevendosje got 12.6%, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) got 11.2% and the AKR got 7.3 %. Other parties could not meet the required threshold.
Preliminary results from the NGO network Democracy in Action, which monitored the revoting, suggest the AAK won in Decan. The LDK came in second and the PDK was third.
The PDK won in Skenderaj, Drenas, Malisheva and Lipjan.
Parties differed in their assessment of the revote. The PDK said the process was successful, without the incidents and technical problems that marred the first round. The LDK and AAK, however, are complaining about power cuts in some voting centres in the Drenica region.
The cuts "were orchestrated from the institutions in charge," the AAK alleged.
The Kosovo Power Company responded by saying the problem had to do with light bulbs and other technical problems, and not with the power supply.
The NGO Democracy in Action, which helped monitor the vote, said it recorded instances of multiple voting, voting during the period when the electricity was out, and family voting. It said its observers received threats, including "from persons authorised by the Central Election Commission".
The group said it eventually pulled its observers from one voting centre due to the threats.
More than 2,600 foreign and local observers were certified to monitor the revote.
A delegation of European Parliament observers noted "some serious shortcomings underscored insufficient political will, including at a grass roots level, to conduct a genuine election in line with international standards and good electoral practice."

"Although the vote took place in an overall calm atmosphere, reports of electoral fraud and intimidation were brought to the attention of the delegation," it said.
"A determined effort must be made to prosecute all identified perpetrators of fraud promptly and transparently, including pending cases from the 2009 local elections," the delegation added.
International Civilian Representative Pieter Feith said on Sunday morning in a voting centre in Drenas that irregularities will not be tolerated. US Ambassador Christopher Dell said that the voting process was better organised this time and there was more control in the voting centres.
Meanwhile, the process is not over yet. The Kosovo Supreme Court ruled that a revote will take place in Mitrovica on January 23rd.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com....more...


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