Kosovan parliamentary election, 2010

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Incumbent Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi PDK

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The Kosovan parliamentary election was held in Kosovo on 12 December 2010 following a vote of no confidence in the government that brought forward the election.^[1]

Background

The election was initially called on 15 October 2010, after President Fatmir Sejdiu resigned in September 2010 over accusations of breaching the constitution by continuing to hold his party leadership while president. However, the next day the Democratic League of Kosovo announced it would leave the ruling coalition on 18 October 2010, which would require early elections to be held within 45 days of that date.^[2] After the government failed a vote of no confidence on 2 November 2010, the election was set for 12 December 2010.^[3][4] The vote was a result of Hashim Thaci's governing party supporting a no-confidence vote to trigger a snap election.

This was to be the first election since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, and the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the legality of the declaration.

Reaction to election call

The call for a new election was condemned both within and without Kosovo because the incumbent government "orchestrat[ed] its own downfall," while election observers "warned the snap polls it triggered could damage Pristina at the international level."

Koha Ditore said: "Nowhere in the world has a government overthrown itself asking for it to be changed. It could only happen in Kosovo." Express Daily also added that the election was a result of "the way Hashim Thaci wanted it. The prime minister himself insisted on voting to overthrow the government." Other analysts also warned of ominous outcomes: Nexhmedin Spahiu said "Kosovo will pay the biggest price for it in the eyes of the international community. This will affect international recognitions because the crisis weakens the position of Kosovo." A journalist, Halil Matoshi, concurred with the reaction and aded that "the quick and dizzying fall of all the pillars of the system [proved] the political establishment is unable to ensure stability. It sends a very bad message for Kosovo as a new democracy at the time when the country is facing the Atlantic integrations and implementation of European standards to achieve ensure NATO and EU membership.^[5]

Parties

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) split before the election.^{[clarification needed]} In late October 2010, former Health Minister Bujar Bukoshi and Uke Rugova (the son of the late president Ibrahim Rugova) announced they would be filing a citizens' list called LDK – Ibrahim Rugova ( a combined name of Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës LDK and Ibrahim Rugova) to run in the election.^[6]

At a party congress on 7 November, Pristina mayor Isa Mustafa was elected as the new leader of LDK(Democratic League of Kosovo (Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës)), beating incumbent Fatmir Sejdiu with 235 to 125 votes.^[7]

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo of Ramush Haradinaj signed an agreement with the LDK – Ibrahim Rugova faction list on 10 November 2010.^[8]

AKR-PD-PSD-PPI-PPK-PNDSH-PGJK^{[clarification needed]}-New Kosovo Alliance of Behgjet Pacolli signed pre-election agreements with the Justice Party and the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo in early November.^[9] The coalition nominated Mimosa Kusari as its prime ministerial candidate^[10]

PDAK 23 registered with the CEC in the last day^{[clarification needed]} and yet early polling puts them as one of the main parties. It is believed that this is mainly due to its charismatic leader.^[11]

The following parties were registered for the parliamentary elections:

Source: Central Election Commission of Kosovo

Campaign

As campaigning began President Jakup Krasniqi called on "all political parties to run their campaigns in accordance with the law." He said that "For a moment the whole world will look at us, to see our democratic culture and political maturity and the seriousness of a declared state that has so far been recognised by 72 countries."^[12] Incumbent Thaci was expected to benefit from an election where his viable contenders were in disarrray.^[13]

Voters in the north would occur in temporary polling stations; while turnout was predicted to be low, Serbs in other areas of Kosovo were expected to have a big turnout.

Though the election passed off largely without incident, a Bosniak candidate who worked with the authorities in Pristina was shot dead in the northern city of Leposavic.

Polls

The DPK, led by incumbent Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, was expected to narrowly win the election, though it would face difficulty in forming a stable government as its potential coalition partners ruled out working with his party.^[14] The nationalist Vetevendosje movement and the Liberal Democratic Fryma a Re (FER) were also expected to enter parliament for the first time after crossing the minimum 5% threshold.^[15]

Voting issues

The Central Electoral Commission came under pressure to work quickly for the snap polls with a "short windor for preparations." Amid concerns of removing ineglibile voters in such a short time, about 6,000 people were taken off the voting lists. The head of the commission Valdete Daka said on this would be Kosovo's most strictly watched elections with thousands of local and international observers in attendance.^[16] 1.6 million people were elgiible to vote. About 5,000 civil society representatives and international missions were scheduled to monitor the election.^[15]

Following a 21 November municipal election that was found to have had mistakes, the CEC,and the largest monitoring mission, Democracy in Action, admitted having made the mistakes in vote counting in Rahovec with second place being given to the wrong party. This raised concerns for the parliamentary election.^[17]

Though Serbia told Kosovan Serbs conditions were not right for the election, turnout was expected to be high in the Serb enclaves of Gracanica and Strpce.^[18] Vuk Draskovic, a former foreign minister in Serbia and leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, urged Kosovan Serbs to vote.^[19] The US ambassador also called on the Kosovan Serbs to vote,^[20] as well as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia who said voting in the polls would not deny them social welfare from Serbia.^[21] Several Serb organisation in both Serbia and Kosovo's Serbian areas said that continuing a boycott of elections was a denail of the ground reality.^[22] However, some Kosovan Serb officials warned that mobile polling stations would be provocative and could lead to untoward incidents. The head of the Zvecan municipality near Mitrovica, Dragisa Milovic, said polling booths in Serb areas, including the police station were "unacceptable."^[21]

Controversy

Thaci announced a pay increase of 30 percent for 70,000 civil servants as well as a doubling of teachers' salaries during the electoral campaign.^[23] Jose Sulemane, the head of the IMF in Kosovo, said such a pay increase would not viable without breaking the terms of a deal Thaci signed that would limit pay increases to a maximum rise of public sector pay to 8 percent. The agreement offered Kosovo a 110 million euro soft loan as a preliminary loan to 300 million euros more from the European Union and the World Bank over three years.^[24] Thaci dismissed the criticsm as saying Kosovo was a "sovereign country [that] sets its own economic policy" and that he would continue with his pledges.^[25]

Result

Reports indicated that the Serb-majority area around Mitrovica had just two votes cast from a population of 60,000 by the time polls closed, one of which was in the Bosniak area. In Gracanica, the municipal election commission predicted a 40 turnout. Other election day controversies included a polling station in Banska being surrounded by more than 50 Serbs and a road to the village being blocked with 2 men arrested and the polling station later moved. A KFOR office in Zubin Potok was also shot at in the morning.^[18]

Incumbent PM Hashim Thaci claimed victory in the election with exit polls showing the Democratic Party of Kosovo won 31 percent and the Democratic League of Kosovo followed with 25 percent, though this was not yet certified by the CEC.^[26][27] Exit polls also indicated a 47% turnout,^[28]

The two leading parties, DPK and LDK, were in the previous governing coalition.^[29] According to preliminary results issued by the Central Election Commission^[30], the breakdown of votes is:

Fraud allegations

Although the first reports of the numerous observers of the election was positive^[31], allegations of fraud later arose as an unusually large voter turnout was reported by LDK in some strongholds of the rival PDK. LDK spokesman said that the voting had been compromised in two PDK strongholds where turnout was "statistically impossible, logically unreasonable, politically unacceptable and legally contestable in Kosovo's reality" with 94 percent compared to the national average of 48%. He further stated that LDK will use all legal means to bring legitimacy to the election.^[32]

Reactions

EU representatives called for a speedy formation of a new government.^[31]

References

External links

• Crowdmap for tracking issues with the election
• Kosovo election 2010 - from Balkan Insight.