Leading Kosovo parties claim victory in first vote
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Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci casts his ballot at a polling station
PRISTINA — Kosovo's two coalition parties claimed victory in the country's first election since declaring independence as the election commission postponed Monday releasing complete results.
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said his Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won convincingly in 20 out of 36 municipalities in Sunday's local elections.
"The victory of the PDK presents a referendum about good governance in the Republic of Kosovo," he told to hundreds of his followers who were chanting his name.
On the other side, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) of President Fatmir Sejdiu, which is the junior partner in the governing coalition, claimed absolute victory in the capital of Pristina by wining the mayor's post and the majority in the local assembly.
"It was a good day for the LDK," vice-president of LDK, Lutfi Haziri, told reporters, claiming his party won also in several important Kosovo's municipalities.
Kosovo citizens went to the polls Sunday for the first time since the ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Its independence has been recognised by 63 countries including the United States and the most of the European Union.
According to the electoral commission, some 45 percent of the 1.5 million eligible voters voted for mayors and local representatives in what Serbia sees as a renegade southern province.