Posted on 12/13/2001 5:27:02 AM PST by oxi-nato
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - Veteran pacifist Ibrahim Rugova failed to win enough support in Kosovo's new legislature on Thursday to be elected president of the Yugoslav province in a first round of voting. Instead of the two-thirds majority needed, only 49 deputies in the 120-seat assembly backed Rugova, who led passive resistance by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to harsh Serb rule for a decade before war engulfed the province in 1999.
The assembly session, which follows on from Monday's inauguration of the vaunted multi-ethnic legislative body set up after a general election last month, ended after the vote and it was not clear when it would meet again. Failure to pick a president quickly may disappoint Western officials, who have urged Kosovo's newly-elected leaders to show they are ready to face the challenge of governing.
The U.N. mission which has run Kosovo since war ended in June 1999 hopes the new assembly will help overcome years of hatred and foster reconciliation by encouraging majority Albanians and minority Serbs to work together. The lack of clear majority support for Rugova mainly reflected the fact that the major Albanian parties have so far failed to reach an agreement on power sharing.
Kosovo's second largest party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo led by former guerrilla chief Hashim Thaci, said it first wanted such a deal before taking part in a vote for the presidency. Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo party is the largest in the assembly with 47 seats but needs support from other deputies to get him elected president.
SERBS STAYED NEUTRAL The 22-strong coalition representing the Serb minority said it would not back any candidate as it had not been consulted on the issue before the session. "We did not vote for anyone," said Rada Trajkovic, head of the Serb deputy group. Only 70 deputies of the 118 present took part in the vote. Once elected, the president nominates a prime minister. Rugova was the only candidate presented on Thursday.
To be elected in a first or second round, candidates need a two-thirds majority, at least 81 votes. The rules change in a possible third round when a simple majority, 61 votes, is needed.
The new assembly was set up to give the province substantial autonomy, with local institutions running domestic affairs such as the economy and healthcare, under a U.N. umbrella pending a settlement some time in the future on its final status. Kosovo Albanian parties are united in demanding independence, while the Serb minority is desperate to keep the province within the Yugoslav federation.
the west trusted these albanians!
NO INDEPENDENCE! move back to albania if they want that!
final status was determined by UNSCR 1244 & the MTA......is this guy advocating breaking our treaty committments ?
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