Kosovo Albanians Vote in Elections

By Merita Dhimgjoka
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2000; 7:30 a.m. EDT

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- Guarded by NATO-led peacekeepers and
U.N. police, Kosovars chose local officials Saturday in their first election
since Yugoslav control ended last year. Albanians see the vote as a first
step toward their dream of independence from Belgrade.

Serbs were boycotting the election, fearing that the ballot will indeed
loosen the province's ties to Yugoslavia, even though the United Nations
insists the province remains officially part of the main Yugoslav republic
Serbia.

"I have come to vote ... for Kosovo's independence," said 67-year-old
Adem Ademi, who showed up an hour before the polls opened because
"I wanted to be the first to cast my vote for independence."

Former rebel leader Hashim Thaci, who heads one of the major parties
contesting the election, said he was confident the election would help
convince the world "that Kosovo should be given the right to
independence."

The contradiction between U.N. policy and the aspirations of the
overwhelming majority of Kosovars shows the dilemma facing the United
States and its allies in determining the future of a province that they have
governed since the end of the 78-day NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in
June 1999.

Balloting was peaceful in the early hours. But it was slow and often
chaotic, despite months of preparation by the United Nations and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Many - including the wife of the province's best-known moderate leader
Ibrahim Rugova - were turned away because their names were not on
voter rolls, although they insisted they had registered before the October
deadline.

In Pristina, multiple precincts were often set up within a single school
building. Voters stood for hours in lines, only to be told they should have
been in another queue leading to another classroom.

Elderly people, many of them barely literate, could not figure out the
complicated ballot. OSCE complained that many of its ethnic Albanian
precinct staff showed up late for the 7 a.m. opening.

"This is bad organization," complained Xhevat Nurboja, 58, who was
turned away because his name was not on the rolls. "I registered but I
cannot vote. I don't know what I should do."

The OSCE election chief, American Jeff Fischer, said voting would be
extended at precincts where people were already in line by the 7 p.m.
closing. He said most of the delays were in Pristina and other major cities.

"Our staff simply did not show up to work in some locations," Fischer
said. "Now we are in a situation, as we say in the U.S, of having to play a
catch-up ball."

Up to 900,000 people, virtually all of them ethnic Albanians, registered
and turnout appeared heavy. At stake were local council seats in 30
municipalities. The results will also show for the first time which of the 20
political parties which have emerged since the Yugoslav army and police
left have strong followings among Kosovo's more than 2 million people.

International administrators have struggled to build a multiethnic society
here and establish local institutions. However, the ethnic Albanians - more
than 90 percent of the population - want independence. Support by their
leaders for a multiethnic society is widely seen as lip-service to appease
the U.N. administration.

Albanian flags were displayed outside most of the polling stations.

Election officials said preliminary results will not be known before Monday
evening, but official results are expected to be announced only eight to
twelve days after the ballot.

Only three parties stand a realistic chance to win representation in the
local councils: those headed by Rugova, Thaci and Ramush Haradinaj,
another former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Apart from the Albanians, Kosovo's people include Serbs, Slavic
Muslims, ethnic Turks and Gypsies.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the people of Kosovo to take
part in the voting "in a spirit of peace and tolerance" and to respect the
outcome.

In a statement Friday, Annan said the U.N. mission would begin
transferring administrative responsibilities to the elected municipal leaders
once the results were certified.

© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press