PRISTINA, Oct 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The former guerilla commanders who have
dominated Kosovo since its independence will fight for political survival in
elections on Sunday, with opposition parties threatening to boot them from
power.
The poll is the fourth since tiny Kosovo formally broke away from Serbia
in 2008.
But the optimism generated by that split has been flattened by frustration
with a political class blamed for corruption and widespread poverty.
Kosovo’s leading men — President Hashim Thaci and ex-prime minister
Ramush Haradinaj — both hail from the rebel group that battled Serb forces
in 1998-99, paving the way for independence.
Two decades later, they have failed to secure full global acceptance of
Kosovo’s statehood.
Belgrade and its allies, chiefly Russia and China, deny Kosovo’s
independence and have blocked it from a seat in the UN.
The picture is also bleak at home, where around a third of the population
is unemployed.
On Sunday, two leading opposition parties hope to capitalise on public
anger with the status quo.
They don’t have much in common ideologically — one camp is centre-right
while the other is left-wing and nationalist.
But they share a common desire to send the so-called ‘war wing’
politicians into retirement.
The centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is being led by Vjosa
Osmani, a 37-year-old law professor who hopes become the first woman to lead
Kosovo as Prime Minister.
The other, 44-year-old Albin Kurti of the Vetevendosje party, is a leftist
politician with a history of radical antics in parliament, including
unleashing tear gas in the assembly.
The pair would need to eventually strike an alliance in order to take the
reins from the former fighters, as no party in Kosovo’s splintered political
scene is expected to carve out an absolute majority.
– Education, healthcare, jobs –
Shpetim Gashi, a political analyst, says “it is more likely than ever
before” that the establishment could suffer a defeat.
“Few in Kosovo are happy with the decade of independence,” he told AFP.
“The voters’ demands have increased. It is not enough any more just to
have water and electricity. Now they want education, healthcare and good
jobs.”
One of the poorest parts of Europe, Kosovo has outdated infrastructure, a
host of environmental woes and huge emigration rates, particularly to Germany
and Switzerland.
Despite repeated promises from politicians, Kosovars are also the only
people in the Balkans who still need a visa to enter the European Union — an
acute source of frustration for many.
“I think the (election) outcome will show that the people want a change of
government,” said Vedat Gashi, 26 and unemployed.
“The president of a corrupt country run by mafia cannot be forgiven for
the political and economic crises the country is going through,” he added.
The ex-fighters, however, can count on the backing of their traditional
base — especially older generations who lived through the war, and those who
reside in the politicians’ local strongholds.
They also wield heavy influence over civil servants.
“If it were up to me I would keep our liberators in the government. They
were ready to sacrifice their lives in the war, proving that they love their
country,” said Adem Zeneli, a 67-year-old veteran from western Drenica, the
region from which President Thaci hails.
Kosovo’s Serb minority — whose status remains a major sticking point in
frozen talks between Pristina and Belgrade — will also vote for their
allotted 10 representatives in parliament.
Around 120,000 Serbs still live in overwhelmingly Albanian Kosovo, though
many consider themselves loyal to Belgrade.
Polls open at 7:00 am local time (0500 GMT) and will close at 7:00 pm
(1700 GMT).
Around 1.9 million people, including those in the diaspora, are registered
to vote.