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ELECCIONS 1998 - BALOTOJ 1998
The Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the Republic of Kosova will be held as scheduled on Sunday, 22 March 1998.
The Chairman of Republican Election Commission, Tadej Rodiqi, told press that all the necessary preparations for holding the elections have been made. Pursuant to the Law on Elections, there are 29 elections units in Kosova, i.e. one unit in each municipality. Electoral units are divided into electoral zones, each of them giving one member to the Parliament, he said. Tadej Rodiqi said 13 groupings - 10 political parties and three associations - will take part in the elections with their candidates for MPs. Apart from Albanian political parties, a party of Turks and one gathering Slavic Muslims (Bosniacs) will take part, he said.
Following are the names of the parties and associations that will take part in the Sunday elections with their candidates for members of Parliament:
Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovės - LDK (Democratic League of
Kosova),
Partia Shqiptare Demokristiane -PSHDK (Christian Democratic
Party of Kosova),
Partia Liberale e Kosovės - PLK (Liberal Party of Kosova),
Partia Socialdemokrate e Kosovės - PSDK (Social Democratic Party of Kosova),
Partia Republikane e Kosovės - PRK (Republican Party of Kosova);
Partia National-demokrate Shqiptare e Kosovės PNDSHK (Albanian
National-democratic Party of Kosova),
Partia Popullore Shqiptare e Kosovės PPSHK (Albanian Popular
Party of Kosova),
Partia Popullore Turke - PPT (Turkish Popular Party)
Partia pėr Aksion Demokratik - PAD (Party for Democratic Action
a party of Slavic Muslims ‘Bosniacs’),
Lidhja e tė Gjelbėrve ė Kosovės - LGJK (The Kosova Greens) ---
Shoqata e Juristėve tė Kosovės - SHJK (Association of Kosova
Lawyers),
Lidhja e Qytetare e Kosovės - LQK (Citizens League of Kosova)
The Peasants Party of Kosova (Partia Fshatare e Kosovės - PFK), which has frozen its activity, did not offer its candidates for MPs but the party members will turn out to vote, its leader told media on Friday.
Because of the ongoing Serb siege in the Drenica region, the Republican Commission has decided that elections be postponed in the three municipalities, Skenderaj, Gllogov and Klina. The voting in these municipalities will be held at a later date. The Parliament of the Republic of Kosova will have 130 members. 100 members will be elected through direct vote, while the rest, 30, will be allocated to ethnic groups and small parties, those winning at least 3 percent of those casting their votes in Kosova. 12 seats will be vacant for the Serbs and Montenegrins of Kosova. There is one presidential candidate in the Sunday elections, the incumbent President of the Republic of Kosova, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, who is also chairman of the Democratic League of Kosova. Dr. Rugova’s candidacy has been supported also by the PNDSH, PLK, PSHDK and PRK.
Another candidate, Mrs Luljeta Pula-Beqiri, chairwoman of the one of the fractions of the Social Democratic Party of Kosova, withdrew her candidacy only a few days before the election day. The polling stations in Kosova, except the municipalities of Gllogovc, Klina and Skenderaj will open Sunday at 7:00 and will be closed at 19:00 hrs.
President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova appointed earlier this month the central Republican Election Commission. Municipal electoral commissions have been appointed in all the 29 units, while electoral boards for the polling stations all over Kosova.
The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) has candidates in 95 out of the 100 zones. In two zones the LDK will be in coalition with PLK and PAD. PLK has candidates in 80 zones, PSHDK in 70 zones, PSDK in 69 zones, PND in 45 zones, PNDSH in 40 zones, PRK in 26 zones, PPSH in 3 zones, the Kosova Lawyers in 32 zones, and the Kosovar Greens in 18 zones. There will be four independent candidates in Dragash, Deēan, Peja, and Fushė Kosova, respectively. Three political parties, the faction of Luljata Pula-Beqiri of the Social Democratic Party (PSDK), the Parliamentary Party of Kosova (PPK) and the Party of National Unity (UNIKOMB) will not take part in the parliamentary elections.
The 22 March 1998 elections are the second multiparty elections to be held in the Republic of Kosova. The first elections were held May 24 1992. Dr. Ibrahim Rugova was then elected President, whereas the LDK won most of the seats in the 130-seat Parliament of the Republic of Kosova.
Kosova has a combined majority-proportional election system.