Thaci officially confirmed as Kosovo election winner

Dec 3, 2007, 11:28 GMT

Pristina - Final results of November 11 parliamentary polls in Kosovo were announced Monday, confirming the victory of the former rebel leader Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

The PDK won 37 of the 120 seats in the Kosovo assembly, which is expected to declare independence of the province from Serbia within a few months. A 48-hour deadline for appeals would expire Wednesday, after which there can be no changes to the declared outcome.

Kosovar voters, 90 per cent of whom are ethnic Albanians, relegated Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to second place with 25 seats.

The LDK, founded by the late Kosovo Albanian independence icon Ibrahim Rugova, was punished for failing to lead the province to statehood as it had promised.

It may yet remain in power as the junior partner in a grand coalition, anticipated by many local observers in light of significant pending decisions.

A deadline for a compromise on Kosovo's status between Belgrade and Pristina expires on December 10, after which the province may unilaterally declare a break from Serbia.

The newcomer Alliance New Kosovo (AKR), founded in 2006 by millionaire businessman Behgjet Pacolli, claimed 13 seats in its first-ever elections.

The Democratic League of Dardania (LDD) has 11 seats, one more than the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of former premier Ramush Haradinaj, now defendant in a UN war crimes trial.

Overall, Albanian parties won 96 of the 100 seats that were directly contested in the poll, owing to an election boycott by the Serbs who steered clear of polling stations on orders from Belgrade.

As in the vote three years ago, by boycotting the Serbs gave up their estimated 11 per cent share of the vote, translating to around 12 seats on top of the 10 reserved for them as a minority.

An additional 10 seats was reserved for other minorities in Kosovo, such as Turks, Egyptians and Roma. The Turks and Roma also won an additional four seats from the directly contested 100.