Still waiting for the resolution of Kosova’s status, local politicians have asked the UN to hold national and municipal elections in order to renew elective mandates which expired last June.

Below is an article published by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network:

Kosovo’s top politicians decided on Wednesday [18 July 2007] to hold elections for national and municipal offices this autumn despite the disputed territory’s unresolved status.

Kosovo’s Unity Team, a council of the territory`s leading independence-minded politicians, “considers that it is necessary to organise municipal and parliamentary elections in autumn, to confirm the legitimacy of local and national authorities,” Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu told reporters following the team’s meeting.

Though still officially part of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999. The top UN representative in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, will have to approve holding elections and decide on their date.

Ruecker stated earlier that he would do so only after consulting the Unity Team, which was created to negotiate with Serbian politicians on whether Kosovo should be allowed to formally go its own way. Those negotiations have been inconclusive. Serbia insists Kosovo is an integral part of its territory. Kosovo’s 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority has determined it has no future within Serbia.

Kosovo’s 30 local authorities were last elected in 2002 with a mandate to serve for four years. But Ruecker’s predecessor, Soren Jessen-Petersen, postponed the vote until Kosovo’s final status was resolved, but no later than this past June [2007].

With their mandate expired, the legitimacy of local officials has recently been questioned by opposition politicians and recently formed political parties.

Behgjet Pacolli, a prominent businessman who formed the New Alliance for Kosovo, and members of the new Democratic League of Dardania, headed by former parliament speaker Nexhat Daci, have voiced public demands for new elections.

The UN Security Council also has failed to agree on Kosovo’s status. A proposal drafted by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari that recommends independence supervised by the international community has been blocked by Russia, Serbia’s traditional patron. Russia backs Serbia’s demand for more talks between Serbs and the Albanians.