Kosovo Votes Amid Stalled Talks With Serbia
PRISTINA (AFP) -- Kosovo went to the polls Sunday in an election that could usher in new leadership at a time when stalled talks with former war foe Serbia are a source of instability in Europe.
Whoever takes the reins will be under heavy pressure from the West to renew dialogue with Belgrade, which still rejects the independence its former province declared in 2008.
However, for many of Kosovo's 1.8 million citizens, high unemployment, widespread corruption and poor healthcare are more pressing concerns than the talks.
"We need freedom, a state governed by the rule of law, prosperity, economic development," voter Mentor Nimani, 47, told AFP in the capital Pristina shortly after polling began at 0500 GMT.
For the past decade Kosovo has been dominated by members of the guerrilla forces who waged an insurgency against Serbian repression in the late 1990s -- a war that cost 13,000 lives, mostly Kosovo Albanians.
Sunday's snap poll was called after then prime minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned in July to face questioning by a special court in The Hague investigating war crimes from that era.
Opposition parties hope to block him and other ex-fighters from regaining power by harnessing public frustration with the graft and poverty that have blighted Kosovo's first decade of independence.
Kosovo needs Serbia -- and its allies Russia and China -- to accept its statehood so it can get a seat in the United Nations.
Serbia is also under pressure to make peace with Kosovo, so it can move forward with its EU accession process.
But the EU-led talks have been at a standstill for nearly two years, with frequent diplomatic provocations souring efforts to build goodwill.
One of the core obstacles to resuming talks is the 100-percent tariff that Haradinaj slapped on Serbian goods a year ago.
Having resisted heavy Western pressure to remove the tariff, the former commander is hoping voters will reward his tough stance with re-election.
All the other top candidates, however, have shown a willingness to reconsider the tariff for the sake of dialogue.
Whoever takes the reins will be under heavy pressure from the West to renew dialogue with Belgrade, which still rejects the independence its former province declared in 2008.
However, for many of Kosovo's 1.8 million citizens, high unemployment, widespread corruption and poor healthcare are more pressing concerns than the talks.
"We need freedom, a state governed by the rule of law, prosperity, economic development," voter Mentor Nimani, 47, told AFP in the capital Pristina shortly after polling began at 0500 GMT.
For the past decade Kosovo has been dominated by members of the guerrilla forces who waged an insurgency against Serbian repression in the late 1990s -- a war that cost 13,000 lives, mostly Kosovo Albanians.
Sunday's snap poll was called after then prime minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned in July to face questioning by a special court in The Hague investigating war crimes from that era.
Opposition parties hope to block him and other ex-fighters from regaining power by harnessing public frustration with the graft and poverty that have blighted Kosovo's first decade of independence.
Kosovo needs Serbia -- and its allies Russia and China -- to accept its statehood so it can get a seat in the United Nations.
Serbia is also under pressure to make peace with Kosovo, so it can move forward with its EU accession process.
But the EU-led talks have been at a standstill for nearly two years, with frequent diplomatic provocations souring efforts to build goodwill.
One of the core obstacles to resuming talks is the 100-percent tariff that Haradinaj slapped on Serbian goods a year ago.
Having resisted heavy Western pressure to remove the tariff, the former commander is hoping voters will reward his tough stance with re-election.
All the other top candidates, however, have shown a willingness to reconsider the tariff for the sake of dialogue.