Kosovo’s ruling party declares victory in the parliamentary elections

Kosovo’s ruling party of Prime Minister Hashim Thah-chee has declared victory in the parliamentary elections.

According to AFP, a partial vote count has given Thah-chee’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, 33 percent of the vote.

That’s just ahead of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo which obtained 30 percent. Thah-chee is seeking his third term as prime minister.

The Serb minority in the north voted for the first time since Kosovo broke away from Serbia six years ago. Of the 120 seats in the parliament, 10 are reserved for Serbs, who make up about 10 percent of Kosovo’s population.

Normalization of ties with minority Serbs is key for Kosovo to advance in its EU accession drive.