This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7099040.stm

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 8 Version 9
Ex-Kosovo fighter claims victory Ex-Kosovo fighter claims victory
(about 9 hours later)
Former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci has claimed victory in Kosovo's parliamentary election, though official results are yet to be confirmed. A party led by a former Kosovo Albanian guerrilla leader has won the breakaway province's parliamentary election, according to unofficial results.
Mr Thaci said it was "a historic day for Kosovo". He has promised to deliver independence for the Serbian province within weeks. Hashim Thaci has promised to declare formal independence from Serbia after 10 December - the UN deadline for Albanians and Serbs to reach a deal.
Earlier, independent monitors said Mr Thaci's Democratic Party was well ahead, mid-way through the count. It seems likely his party will have to form a coalition with bitter rivals.
But correspondents say a boycott by Kosovan Serbs may undermine the result. Serbs, who want Kosovo to remain part of Serbia, boycotted the polls, which saw a record low turnout.
The Democratic Party is one of several backing independence for the Serbian province. If Mr Thaci's party did in fact win the largest number of seats in the 120-seat parliament, a period of negotiations is likely to take place before a coalition government is formed, the BBC's Nick Hawton reports from the Kosovo capital, Pristina.
Coalition talks loom But every ethnic Albanian party, our correspondent adds, has the same priority: trying to make Kosovo an independent state in its own right and break away from Serbia.
"Today Kosovan citizens sent a message to the world, that we are a democratic society, that we are ready to take our country towards the European Union," Mr Thaci told cheering supporters on Saturday night. Kosovo is formally part of Serbia but has been run by the United Nations since 1999 when Nato ejected Serbian forces from the province.
He has promised to declare independence immediately after 10 December, the deadline set by the UN for the conclusion of talks on the future status for the province. 'New century'
His Democratic Party had 35% of the vote, with more than half of ballots counted, independent observers said. "We will declare independence immediately after 10 December," Mr Thaci told cheering supporters as results were coming in.
That puts Mr Thaci, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, in pole position to be prime minister, though it is likely he would have to form a coalition government "With our victory today begins the new century... Today Kosovo citizens sent a message to the world, that we are a democratic society, that we are ready to take our country towards the European Union."
The Democratic League of Kosovo, led by President Fatmir Sejdiu, was trailing in second place with 22% of the vote, election monitors said. Mr Thaci's Democratic Party had 35% of the vote, with more than half of ballots counted, independent observers said.
Official final results, however, may take several days to come through. That puts the former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army in pole position to be prime minister.
According to election officials turnout was around 45%, the lowest since the Nato-led intervention in 1999. The rival Democratic League of Kosovo, which has dominated Kosovo politics since independence, trailed in second place with 22% of the vote, election monitors said.
Official final results may take several days to come through.
According to election officials, the turnout was around 45%, the lowest since 1999.
Correspondents say the low figure was down to poor weather and disenchantment with economic prospects, not second thoughts about independence.
Serb boycottSerb boycott
The electorate was voting in parliamentary, local and mayoral elections.
One hundred of the 120 seats in the provincial assembly were up for direct election, with the rest reserved for Serbs and other minorities.One hundred of the 120 seats in the provincial assembly were up for direct election, with the rest reserved for Serbs and other minorities.
Turnout was low, while many Serbs boycotted the vote The Serbian government had called on ethnic Serbs not to vote so as to avoid legitimising the new government.
Kosovo is formally part of Serbia but has been run by the UN since 1999. A Kosovo Serb spokesman, Rade Negojevic, said just three out of 46,000 Serbs in northern Kosovo had cast ballots.
Ethnic Albanians, backed by the US and others, want independence but Serbia, supported by Russia, is against it. "Two people voted in Leposavic district, one in Zvecan and not a single person in Kosovska Mitrovica," he said.
The BBC's Nick Hawton in Pristina, the Kosovan capital, says it appears that a large number of Serbs boycotted the ballot.
The Belgrade government had called on Serbs not to vote so as to avoid legitimising a government that may soon decide to break away from Serbia.
Rade Negojevic, a spokesman for the Serbian national council, claimed that only three Serbs voted in northern Kosovo.
However the Kosovo head of the European security group, the OSCE, Tim Guldimann, said there were "no irregularities" in polling and that the vote could be considered a success.