AFP - Kosovo went to the polls Sunday for the first time since the ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia last year, amid a partial boycott by a divided Serbian community.
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the local election "is the most important since the proclamation of independence" as he voted in bright sunshine in Pristina, accompanied by his family.
According to the electoral commission, by noon (1100 GMT) 15 percent of the 1.5 million eligible voters had already voted for mayors and local representatives in what Serbia sees as a renegade southern province.
But most eyes were on Kosovo's 120,000 strong Serb community amid calls from Belgrade and the influential Serbian Orthodox Church for them to boycott the polls.
However Serbs appeared to be participating in polling stations throughout central Kosovo, home to two-thirds of the Serb minority, local media reported.
In the Serb stronghold Gracanica, eight kilometers (five miles) south of Pristina, there were even queues of people waiting outside some polling stations.
According to local electoral officials in Gracanica, more then 10 percent out of 18,000
To take advantage of all the features on FRANCE24.COM, please click here to download the latest version of Flash Player. "People feel let down by the government's unkept promises." - France 24's Laurent Rouy in Kosovo
inhabitants had voted by 2:00 pm.The polls in Gracanica were underway as church bells began to toll to announce the death of patriarch Pavle, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who died in Belgrade earlier in the day."We live here and do not see any other solution," 47 year-old farmer Slobodan Joksimovic told AFP, explaining why he decided to turn his back to appeals from Belgrade to boycott the pools."The time has come for us to decide our own fate," 25-year-old technician Dragan Ivanovic said after casting the ballot in the nearby village of Gusterica.However, the one-third of Kosovo's Serbs, who live in the north near the Serbian border, were massively boycotting the vote. The electionl commission said turnout by noon in three northern municipalities with majority Serb population was from 0.20 to 2.42 percent.Nesrin Lushta of the central election commission told reporters the authorities in the north had even been prevented from opening most of the polling stations in public premises."We have foreseen such a situation," she said, adding that four mobile polling teams were sent from Pristina to the north "to provide conditions for voting."Kosovo seceded from Serbia in February 2008 despite strong opposition by Belgrade, having been run by a UN mission since the end of the 1998-99 war.The Serb community as a whole rejected the independence declaration and have kept strong links with authorities in Belgrade, receiving financial and political support from the Serbian government.More then 60 countries, including the United States and all but five European Union members have recognised Kosovo's independence.Urging for a massive turnout, President Fatmir Sejdiu called on particularly the Serb community "to participate massively because it is a huge chance for them to be an actor of our everyday and institutional life.""It is a special feeling to vote in your own country for the first time in your life," said 72-year-old pensioner Nexhi Arifi, an ethnic Albanian voting at a Pristina school.The main contenders are Sejdiu's Democratic League of Kosovo (DLK) and Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), trailed by the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj.Polling stations were due to close at 7:00 pm. The first unofficial results are expected by midnight. A runoff will be held on December 13 in municipalities where candidates fail to win more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.The polls were being monitored by 3,000 local and international observers, including an EU mission and a European Parliament delegation.
Fatmir Sejdiu
Voting polls opened in Kosovo at 7am (0600 UTC); the first time since declaring independence from Serbia last year. Both ethnic Albanians and the minority Serb population may vote for local mayors and councillors, a move seen as testing the government's capacity to organise its own democratic elections. The territory was run by the United Nations mission before its split from Serbia in February 2008.

On Friday, President Fatmir Sejdiu stressed the importance of the elections. And, calling on the 1.5 million eligible voters to mobilise, said "this Sunday should prove to the world that Kosovo is a stable country that produces peace and stability in the region".

The Kosovo police have tightened security, and the 13,000 Kosovo Force troops — a NATO-led peacekeeping force — are on standby, according to its commander, General Markus Bentler. Local and international observers will monitor polls.

The main concern is the number of citizens who will vote, as only a 40% turnout level is expected. According to the BBC, most of the 120,000 Serbs oppose Kosovo's independence. The government in Belgrade and the Serbian Orthodox Church have called for a boycott.

Polling stations are due to close at 7pm (1800 UTC); the first unofficial results are expected late Sunday evening.