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CONTENTS: 19 NOV. 2001 SHALA: THE PERCENTAGES AND NEW POLITICAL SCHEME SHALA: THE PERCENTAGES AND NEW POLITICAL SCHEME Zëri on the front page carried a column by its editor-in-chief Blerim Shala commenting on the flow of the parliamentary elections in Kosovo. Shala wrote: "While the general elections were taking place yesterday, the citizens, journalists, local and international monitors and politicians, held a specific stance regarding the process of the voting and the organization. Today, we cannot find two people whose words regarding the results of the general elections are somewhat close to the truth. Depending on the source, the LDK won between 44-70%, PDK 17-33% and AAK 7-35%. It is the first time in Europe for the elections to take place in the presence of such a great number of monitors and yet so little precision regarding the results. If we once more passed the exam, the elections will be remembered due to two significant things, the small participation of Albanians in the elections and the great number of contradictory statements regarding the results. One third of the Albanian corpus did not participate in the elections most probably due to technical, procedural and political reasons. The contradictions regarding the results makes us be more realistic as far as our political maturity is concerned. Nevertheless, the elections have proven that from now on, four relevant political factors will be on the Kosovar political scene. These factors are the LDK of Ibrahim Rugova, PDK of Hashim Thaçi, AAK of Ramush Haradinaj and the 'Povratak' coalition. Many things in Kosovo's government and assembly will depend on the relations among these four factors."
LDK Chairman Dr. Ibrahim Rugova held a press conference on Saturday in which he announced that his party won the elections and called for a formal recognition of Kosovo's independence reported Koha Ditore on page two. We are waiting for the official results, however according to our preliminary reports LDK has won around 70% of the votes, said Rugova on Sunday. He added that this percentage of votes would ensure LDK a solid and efficient leadership of Kosovo and that yesterday's elections showed that the people of Kosovo deserve independence. Rugova expressed his gratitude to the people of Kosovo who were very disciplined on Saturday and especially thanked KFOR, UNMIK, OSCE, UNMIK police and KPS for their commitment. The elections were peaceful, fair and very productive, Rugova said. He called the elections a festivity for Kosovo and said that 17 November was a historic day for Kosovo. "I again call for recognition of Kosovo's independence as soon as possible" he said. Kosovo's independence would be positive for all the citizens and would calm down this part of Europe and the world, he suggested. Rugova said: "I hope that this recognition of independence would happen during the term of the parliament elected on Saturday's elections." Rugova said that he will be Kosovo's president However the question of the Prime Minister would be discussed after the president is elected and in consultation with other political parties. He added that LDK is ready to offer ministerial posts to other political parties and believes that cooperation between Albanian political parties will be good. Rugova also said that Kosovo expects integration of the Serb community in the institutional life of Kosovo. "We will have a multiethnic Kosovo with responsibility of the majority toward the minority and also the minority will have its own responsibilities toward the majority."
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Coordinating Council for Kosovo Nebojsa Covic congratulated the winners of the parliamentary elections in Kosovo and reminded the Albanians that their wish of independence will remain only a "dream", reported Epoka E Re on page three. "The international community guaranteed that independence will not take place in Kosovo and we support that. A 62% participation in the Kosovo elections has proved that the citizens are not for independence but for a normal life as a part of FRY and Serbia, the way the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and UNMIK and FRY's Common Document foresees. Due to this, we are not concerned at all," stressed Covic for Beta in reaction to LDK Chairman Ibrahim Rugova's statement regarding Kosovo gaining independence as soon as possible. Covic said that the results of the "Povratak" coalition are very important. According to him, "Povratak" could have been the second political force in the parliament if it had not been for "inner contradictions and anti-campaigns". "It is important to have a sufficient number of deputies, who have been elected based on international standards and are internationally acknowledged," Epoka E Re on page three quoted Covic. Whereas on page five Epoka E Re quoted Serb representatives affirming the existence of a harsh anti-elections campaign. "Regardless of the inactive electoral campaign of the "Povratak" coalition and several anti-campaigns, in which several state representatives participated, a great number of people participated in the general elections," stressed "Povratak" Chairwoman Rada Trajkovic for the Belgrade based newspaper Beta. "We hope to have 20 deputies in the assembly, which is a great political force and will make it possible for us to find a solution for Kosovo Serbs," stressed "Povratak" candidate Oliver Ivanovic during a press briefing. "We have had several problems with the anti-elections campaigns and
information that was dispersed with the purpose of influencing the
percentage of Serb participation. I believe that the citizens have proved
that they have trust in the high state organs," stressed Serbian Deputy
Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic.
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