Kosovo Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hashim Thaci gestures at supporters during an electoral campaign in the town of Ferizaj on June 3, 2014.
Pristina:
Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, whose PDK party won snap parliamentary elections at the weekend, began the search on Monday for coalition partners to provide him with a third mandate.
Based on more than 94 percent of votes counted, Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) had 31 percent of the vote, the electoral commission results website showed. The main opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), was on 26 percent.
"This is a victory for Kosovo... that showed that our state is ready to fulfil new dreams," Thaci told several hundred supporters in downtown Pristina early on Monday.
But the ex-guerilla chief, who has dominated politics since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, will need to find coalition partners to form a government after after failing to gain enough MPs in the 120-seat parliament to rule alone.
During the campaign, the three largest opposition parties had said they would not form a coalition with the PDK, following public discontent in Europe's poorest country over high unemployment and rampant corruption.
"There is no absolute winner of the elections. All remains open regarding formation of Kosovo's new government," commented the influential Koha Ditore daily on Monday.
"Those who were claiming that they will go into coalition (with PDK) now might find an excuse" to change their mind, the paper said.
The election passed off peacefully with Serbs in Kosovo's restive northern region taking part for the first time in a general election, which could give a boost to the country's hopes of starting EU accession talks.
The participation of the Serbs follows a historic EU-brokered accord between Kosovo and Serbia last year in which Belgrade agreed to recognise Pristina's authority over the entire territory.
Many of Kosovo's Serbs, who number around 120,000 in the majority ethnic Albanian country of 1.8 million, have reacted angrily to the agreement.
Although Serbia still rejects Kosovo's full independence, it had encouraged Kosovo Serbs to take part in the vote in order to strengthen its own EU entry talks.
It seemed that many responded to the urging from the Serbian government to meet their "civic and patriotic duty" as around 53,000 of them cast ballots on Sunday, according to Belgrade papers.
But in the flashpoint Serb-dominated region of north Kosovo, few showed up to vote according to an AFP journalist at the scene, though there was none of the violence that attended local elections there last November.
Regardless of the turnout, Serbs are guaranteed 10 seats in the parliament under the country's constitution.
Independence only the beginning
The 46-year-old Thaci has faced mounting criticism from voters angry about a sluggish economy and high unemployment.
Thaci pledged a "new mission in order to build the state our citizens want" and to "work harder to join NATO and the EU".
"We will show to the world that independence was only the beginning of our future."
Thaci's popularity soared when the former guerrilla commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army that fought Belgrade forces during the 1998-1999 war, declared the break from Serbia six years ago. But analysts say the sheen has started to fade.
Landlocked Kosovo has one of the lowest living standards in Europe, with average monthly wages of 350 euros ($480), nearly half the population living in poverty and some 12 percent in extreme poverty.
Unemployment is stuck at 35 percent, rising to 55 percent among the young, according to the Kosovo Statistics Bureau.
"We had high expectations from independence, but little came true," a 49-year-old driver told AFP after casting his ballot in Pristina.
Thaci's PDK had just 32 MPs in the outgoing parliament and had been ruling with support from a small Albanian party and parties of minority groups including Serbs, Bosniaks and Turks.
Political analyst Lumir Abdixhiku warned that if Thaci followed the same path his "government will be on the edge of stability".
"Thaci can make a stable government for another four years only with the LDK," he said.
Arbana Xharra, the Zeri daily editor-in-chief, agreed.
"The only long-term option for Thaci is to seek coalition partners among the three major opposition parties," she said.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, praised the poll as "a step forward in consolidation of Kosovo's democracy," and called for the quick formation of a new government.
Based on more than 94 percent of votes counted, Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) had 31 percent of the vote, the electoral commission results website showed. The main opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), was on 26 percent.
"This is a victory for Kosovo... that showed that our state is ready to fulfil new dreams," Thaci told several hundred supporters in downtown Pristina early on Monday.
But the ex-guerilla chief, who has dominated politics since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, will need to find coalition partners to form a government after after failing to gain enough MPs in the 120-seat parliament to rule alone.
During the campaign, the three largest opposition parties had said they would not form a coalition with the PDK, following public discontent in Europe's poorest country over high unemployment and rampant corruption.
"There is no absolute winner of the elections. All remains open regarding formation of Kosovo's new government," commented the influential Koha Ditore daily on Monday.
"Those who were claiming that they will go into coalition (with PDK) now might find an excuse" to change their mind, the paper said.
The election passed off peacefully with Serbs in Kosovo's restive northern region taking part for the first time in a general election, which could give a boost to the country's hopes of starting EU accession talks.
The participation of the Serbs follows a historic EU-brokered accord between Kosovo and Serbia last year in which Belgrade agreed to recognise Pristina's authority over the entire territory.
Many of Kosovo's Serbs, who number around 120,000 in the majority ethnic Albanian country of 1.8 million, have reacted angrily to the agreement.
Although Serbia still rejects Kosovo's full independence, it had encouraged Kosovo Serbs to take part in the vote in order to strengthen its own EU entry talks.
It seemed that many responded to the urging from the Serbian government to meet their "civic and patriotic duty" as around 53,000 of them cast ballots on Sunday, according to Belgrade papers.
But in the flashpoint Serb-dominated region of north Kosovo, few showed up to vote according to an AFP journalist at the scene, though there was none of the violence that attended local elections there last November.
Regardless of the turnout, Serbs are guaranteed 10 seats in the parliament under the country's constitution.
Independence only the beginning
The 46-year-old Thaci has faced mounting criticism from voters angry about a sluggish economy and high unemployment.
Thaci pledged a "new mission in order to build the state our citizens want" and to "work harder to join NATO and the EU".
"We will show to the world that independence was only the beginning of our future."
Thaci's popularity soared when the former guerrilla commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army that fought Belgrade forces during the 1998-1999 war, declared the break from Serbia six years ago. But analysts say the sheen has started to fade.
Landlocked Kosovo has one of the lowest living standards in Europe, with average monthly wages of 350 euros ($480), nearly half the population living in poverty and some 12 percent in extreme poverty.
Unemployment is stuck at 35 percent, rising to 55 percent among the young, according to the Kosovo Statistics Bureau.
"We had high expectations from independence, but little came true," a 49-year-old driver told AFP after casting his ballot in Pristina.
Thaci's PDK had just 32 MPs in the outgoing parliament and had been ruling with support from a small Albanian party and parties of minority groups including Serbs, Bosniaks and Turks.
Political analyst Lumir Abdixhiku warned that if Thaci followed the same path his "government will be on the edge of stability".
"Thaci can make a stable government for another four years only with the LDK," he said.
Arbana Xharra, the Zeri daily editor-in-chief, agreed.
"The only long-term option for Thaci is to seek coalition partners among the three major opposition parties," she said.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, praised the poll as "a step forward in consolidation of Kosovo's democracy," and called for the quick formation of a new government.
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