EARLY LOCAL ELECTION STARTS IN PRESEVO VALLEY, SOUTH SERBIA

PRESEVO, July 28 (Hina) - Most of a total of 136 polling stations were opened on Sunday morning in the Presevo valley, southern Serbia, for an early municipal election. #L# A very high turn-out is expected among 70,000 eligible voters in the ethnic Albanian and Serbian communities in the three municipalities: Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac. This is the first election in the area since the end of armed skirmishes in May 2001, when Albanians, who accounted for a majority of the local population, asked for being granted greater rights, accusing Belgrade of discrimination. The poll is seen as an important step in bids to ensure a political solution to the problem and local Albanian residents hope a larger number of their representatives will be included in the structures of municipal authorities. Ten political parties, three of which are Albanians, are running for the election, the system of which is the proportional representation. The vote is being observed by several hundred international and local monitors. Observers predict a peaceful course of voting in the two municipalities: Presevo and Medvedja. In Presevo, where ethnic Albanians make up almost 90 percent of the population, the outcome of the election is predictable. Candidates of the three Albanian parties stand the election for the mayor. In Medvedja, Serbs account for a majority of the population, and they make up about 70 percent of 10,000 eligible voters. In Bujanovac, however, a very close contest is predicted between one Serb and one Albanian candidate for the mayor. Albanians for the first time in history are aspiring for this post in the local authorities. In this municipality, Serbs are mainly located in the town of Bujanovac, while Albanians live in nearby villages (such as Ternovac, Koncul and Dobrosine), which were regarded as the hotbed of the Albanian rebellion last year. (hina) ms