Polls open in first Kosovo vote since independence
Polls have opened in the first vote organised by local authorities since the declaration off independence from Serbia, Kosovo’s election authorities said today.
About 1.5 million people are registered to vote at more than 2,000 polling stations, including minority Serb-dominated areas, for local councils and mayors.
First preliminary results are expected within hours after polls close at 7pm.
The vote takes place amid tensions between rival ethnic Albanian parties, fears of fraud and a likely boycott from the Serb minority. Kosovo’s Serbs have refused to vote in the past for security reasons.
Previous elections were run by the United Nations, which took over control of Kosovo from Serbia in 1999.
