Kosovo elects new president, avert crisis

Apr 7, 2011, 23:25 GMT

Belgrade - Atifete Jahjaga was elected late Thursday as the first female president of Kosovo to serve a short six-month term in an effort to end a political stalemate.

The former deputy police chief received 80 of 120 votes in the Parliament to secure the position.

According to the deal between the main political parties that secured Jahjaga's win, electoral laws would be changed to introduce direct presidential elections in 2012 and parliamentary elections would be held a year early, in 2013.

The ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party (PDK), and the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo agreed late Wednesday to elect Jahjaga, a neutral candidate, in order to end a political stalemate and avert another snap election.

The agreement also includes the holding of parliamentary elections within 18 months and the reform of electoral laws.

She replaces Behgjet Pacolli, whose election on February 22 was overturned by the Constitutional Court as illegal. Pacolli, the leader of the PDK's junior partner, the Alliance New Kosovo, was forced to leave office last week.

Kosovo is a former province of Serbia with a majority Albanian population. It declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.

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