Thaci early favorite in historic election

November 17, 2007, PRISTINA, Serbia (AFP) - Voters in Kosovo braved icy weather and fears of renewed violence to elect a government the majority Albanians hope will lead the troubled Serbian province to independence.

"These elections will be an additional verdict towards our destiny" of independence, Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said after voting in downtown Pristina.
"Kosovo is entering into a new phase of its democracy and status," said the leader of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

Coming less than a month before the end of internationally mediated talks on Kosovo's future status, the elections pit the LDK against the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

Tensions were high for the parliamentary, mayoral and municipal elections after the Serbian government urged Kosovo's 100,000 minority Serbs to boycott the polls.

Police said 15 ballot boxes were destroyed early Saturday in a fire at a school in a southern village near Macedonia.

On the eve of the election, the family home of a Serbian politician was targeted in a Molotov cocktail attack in the northern municipality of Zvecan, police spokesman Veton Elshani told AFP.

"The explosion damaged a car in the garage. We don't know what is behind the attack," said Elshani, who could not confirm reports it was the home of a Serbian MP who defied Belgrade's call to boycott the vote.

Front-runner Hashim Thaci pledged independence for Kosovo on Saturday as the breakaway province voted for a new parliament ahead of a showdown with Serbia over its bid for statehood.
"These elections are not about Kosovo's status," the former guerrilla fighter said after casting his ballot. "We will declare independence immediately after December 10."