Pristina: Kosovo stages a partial election re-run on Sunday that could sharply cut incumbent premier Hashim Thaci's margin of victory.
Fraud was suspected in December's election in a number of strongholds of Thaci's PDK party accounting for about ten per cent of the national vote, and analysts say his winning margin will shrink from its current 10 percentage points.
This is certain to complicate the formation of a government whose immediate task is to enter talks with Kosovo's former master Serbia — which does not recognise its independence but has agreed to discuss practicalities of coexistence such as cross-border trade and transport.
Strong government
"Kosovo needs to move fast and needs a strong government for its talks with Serbia," said Mufail Limani, a political analyst and editor of a public TV website.
Thaci's PDK party won 33.5 per cent of the votes on December 12, with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), his former coalition partner, second on 23.6 per cent.
Analysts in Pristina estimate the PDK may lose up to 5 percentage points if there are no fresh irregularities, but will still remain in first place. Formation of a coalition was already likely to be tough in the poorest country in the Balkans as the three next biggest parties have all said they will not govern with Thaci.
Days after the election, a Council of Europe report accused Thaci of having headed a mafia-style organised crime ring while he was a leader of Kosovo's 1990s independence war against Serbia. Thaci has rejected the report and threatened a lawsuit.
Kosovo's independence leaders remain popular and it is not clear that the allegations will hurt Thaci or the PDK.
The state prosecutor's office said it received 133 complaints about irregularities in the voting.
In two of the PDK strongholds where the vote is being rerun, turnout was over 90 per cent, compared to a national average of 48 per cent.
