PRISTINA, Nov 17 (Hina) - UN Civil Administrator Hans Haekkerup told Kosovo television on Friday evening Saturday's general elections in Kosovo was a big day for both the people of Kosovo and the international community. Around 1.2
million people will go to the polls in Saturday's general vote in Kosovo to elect a new, 120-member parliament and the province's government and president. The UN official stressed the Saturday elections meant a new chapter in which representatives of all peoples in Kosovo would assume more responsibilities for important issues. According to Haekkerup, this process represented a step forward in the reconciliation of all communities in Kosovo. The election of the Kosovo parliament will enable the transfer of one part of powers from the hands of the UN Civil Administration to the hands of elected deputies. Of the 1.2 million registered voters, there are 178,000 Serbs, who will cast
PRISTINA, Nov 17 (Hina) - UN Civil Administrator Hans Haekkerup
told Kosovo television on Friday evening Saturday's general
elections in Kosovo was a big day for both the people of Kosovo and
the international community.
Around 1.2 million people will go to the polls in Saturday's general
vote in Kosovo to elect a new, 120-member parliament and the
province's government and president.
The UN official stressed the Saturday elections meant a new chapter
in which representatives of all peoples in Kosovo would assume more
responsibilities for important issues.
According to Haekkerup, this process represented a step forward in
the reconciliation of all communities in Kosovo.
The election of the Kosovo parliament will enable the transfer of
one part of powers from the hands of the UN Civil Administration to
the hands of elected deputies.
Of the 1.2 million registered voters, there are 178,000 Serbs, who
will cast their ballots at 150 voting stations in Kosovo, 177 in
Serbia and 19 in Montenegro. At 7 am on Saturday, 1,660 polling
stations will be opened in Kosovo alone.
Participating in the vote are 1,281 candidates from 26 political
parties or coalitions, including independent candidates, with
women making up 28 percent. One hundred deputies are elected
directly and 20 seats are reserved for Serbs and representatives of
other non-Albanian national minorities.
According to the last census, conducted in 1991, non-Albanian and
non-Serb minorities - Bosniaks, Turks, Romany, Goranci and others -
make up eight percent of the Kosovo population. Bosniaks are the
largest non-Serb and non-Albanian community (3%), followed by the
Romany (2%) and Montenegrins (1%).
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