November 22, 2001	Thursday	Ramazan 6, 1422

BELGRADE: Ethnic Albanians voted overwhelmingly for Ibrahim Rugova, moderate leader of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (DSK) in the province’s first elections held on Saturday, but independence from Serbia, analysts have warned, is still a distant dream.

The first official results of the elections, released by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), showed that Rugova’s DSK won 46.5 per cent of votes, becoming the biggest single party in the future parliament of Kosovo.

“This was a historic event for Kosovo,” Rugova said in Pristina, Kosovo. “We take this opportunity once again to call for the formal recognition of the independence of Kosovo as soon as possible.”

But EU urged Kosovo leaders to adhere to the UN Security Council resolution 1244, that granted autonomy for Kosovo, within a united Serbia.

“It will take all their (Kosovo leaders’) energy and creativity to ensure a prosperous and stable development of Kosovo which safeguards the interest of all communities,” said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in a statement.

Under the UN resolution 1244, Kosovo legally remains part of Serbia, although it has been under UN protectorate since June 1999, following 11 weeks of bombing by NATO.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) of Hashim Thaci and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of Ramush Haradinaj finished second and third respectively in the elections. DPK won 25.5 per cent, while AAK got eight per cent of votes. Nine per cent went to “Povratak” (Return), a Serb coalition, while the rest went to small ethnic Albanian movements.

OSCE said that the vote had been peaceful and orderly, with the turnout of around 65 per cent of 1.25 million eligible voters. Besides a million ethnic Albanian voters, around 177,000 Kosovo Serbs were registered for the polls.

Most local media have praised the elections as a step towards independence. Rugova’s “Bota Sot” said the international community should understand that “Kosovo’s independence is only a step away from being achieved”. Only the independent daily “Koha Ditore” noted that “the first, free and democratic elections have brought Kosovo closer to Europe”, without mentioning the fervent independent drive for the province.

The new administration in Belgrade, which took over in Oct 2000, after decade-long rule of Milosevic, welcomedthe results of Kosovo elections.—Dawn/InterPress Service.