Kosovo govt. falls, snap elections loom

Kosovo’s parliament has unanimously passed a no-confidence motion against the fragile government, prompting an early election to be held within 45 days.

With 66 votes in favor of the no-confidence motion , one against and two abstentions, members of the Kosovo parliament hammered the final nail in the coffin of the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, whose political capital trickled away in late September after his junior partner quit the coalition, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Following the decision, which was made during an extraordinary session at the parliament headquarters in Pristina, Kosovo’s acting President Jakup Krasniqi dissolved the parliament and called for snap elections to be held within 45 days ( probably on December 12).

This would be the first election in Kosovo since the country unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008.

Meanwhile the country’s prime minister welcomed the decision, saying “the voting of members of the parliament is a vote for the future of Kosovo,”

“It is a responsible decision that will mark a new beginning for the state of Kosovo,” Thaci added.

Kosovo descended into a political crisis in late September when Fatmir Sejdiu the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, the junior coalition partner, resigned from his post as the president and his party quit the coalition.

Sejdiu’s party had joined forces with Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo in formation of the governing coalition, but the departure posed a sharp setback for the future of the government.

The early elections are expected to delay the start of European Union-sponsored talks with Serbia on putting the thorny relations between the two countries on the right footing.

In February 2008, ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, being recognized so far by 68 countries, including the United States and majority of the EU members.

Serbia, however, opposes the move considering the territory still as its southern province.