Opposition candidate attacked in Mitrovica, Kosovo

13/11/2009

PRISTINA, Kosovo -- Ahead of Sunday's (November 15th) local elections, Hysni Ahmeti, a candidate for Mitrovica mayor from the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), was attacked Thursday evening as he drove to a campaign event. Assailants fired at his car along the highway linking Pristina to Mitrovica. He was not injured, though his car was damaged.

Another incident marring the last days of campaigning occurred in Zvecan, a town in the Serb-dominated northern part of Kosovo. A grenade was thrown near a shop, the intended target apparently a Serb family that had announced plans to run for seats in the Municipal Assembly of Zvecan. Most Kosovo Serbs are instead expected to boycott the vote.

Also Thursday, two opposition parties -- the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the AAK -- accused the Central Election Commission (CEC) of potential wrongdoing. The parties say the CEC contracted private companies to print the paper ballots and to distribute them to polling stations, even though the companies are unsuitable for the process and don't match the set criteria. (Koha Ditore, Zeri, Epoka e Re, Info Press, Kosova Sot - 13/11/09)