| The preliminary results of Saturday's parliamentary elections in Kosovo will be announced today. Official results will be published in a week. But it is already obvious that international forces in Kosovo have not smoothed out the contradictions between Kosovo Albanians and the non-Albanian population, which boycotted the elections, protesting against the unbearable living conditions. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and the Serbian Orthodox Church supported a boycott of the elections. But under pressure from the European Union, the leadership of Serbia and Montenegro spoke out in support of them. And yet, out of one hundred thousand Serbs, less than 1% voted.
At the same time, out of 1.3 million Kosovo Albanians, more than 50% took part in the elections. Even illiterate people voted, leaving a fingerprint instead of a signature. But turnout fell from 64 to 53% compared to 2001. 33 parties and two Serb blocs took part in the elections. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the Serbs will receive ten mandates. Another ten mandates will be divided among other non-Albanians - mountaineers, gypsies, Bosnians.
Kosovo and Metohija is the official name of this autonomous Serbian region. Since 1999, it has been under the authority of the UN Mission, but Albanian nationalists really rule there. Self-determination of Kosovo is the slogan of the leading Kosovar parties - the Democratic League of Kosovo of local president Ibrahim Rugova, the Democratic Party of Kosovo led by the ex-leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army Hashim Thaci, whom the Serbs dream of seeing in the Hague Tribunal, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo. , also led by ex-KLA militant Ramush Haradinaj.
As the head of the Center for the Study of the Contemporary Balkan Crisis, Doctor of Historical Sciences, told Vremya Novostey. Elena Guskova, this vote “will help international organizations take a realistic look at the events in Kosmet and stop building castles in the air, proposing unrealistic ways to resolve the Kosovo issue.” By the way, 230 thousand Serbian refugees still cannot return to the region. Katerina LABETSKAYA
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