The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.
Campaigning for Kosovo's 2nd Round of Elections Starts
Pristina | 07 December 2009 | Petrit Collaku
Kosovo Local Elections 2009
Political parties on Sunday started campaigning for the second round of Kosovo's municipal elections scheduled for 13 December that will be held in 21 municipalities, including in the country's second largest town Prizren.
The results are key as they will determine the overall political make-up of Kosovo's municipalities.
Seven political parties will campaign, while 42 candidates will compete in the mayoral elections, with the majority of candidates coming from the governing party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK.
Although in coalition with the PDK at the central government level, the Democratic League of Kosovo. LDK, has made a pact with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, in most of the municipalities they run. The smaller parties New Kosovo Alliance-Democratic League of Dardania will support the PDK in some municipalities.
The elections are being held after no single candidate secured the required 51 per cent of votes during the first round of municipal elections held on 15 November.
Mayoral elections were completed in 14 municipalities. Of these, the governing PDK gained four municipalities, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo four municipalities, the Democratic League of Kosovo gained two, and the Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party one municipality.
Serbian parties won in two municipalities, while the Citizen Initiative for the Ranilug Municipality will govern Kosovo's newly created municipality of Ranilug for the next four years.
Attention this Sunday will be focused on voting in the larger urban centres of Prizren, Suhareke, Gjilan and Mitrovica. The race in Prizren and Gjilan is between PDK and the Democratic League of Kosovo, in Suhareke, the PDK will compete against the Allinace for the Future of Kosovo, and in Mitrovica the PDK will compete against the New Kosovo Alliance-Democratic League of Dardania.
