KOSOVO: LDK CONVENTION GIVES SEJDIU NARROW VICORY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 001059 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2016 TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: LDK CONVENTION GIVES SEJDIU NARROW VICORY OVER DACI, BUT EVENT MARRED BY VIOLENCE Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The ruling Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) party elected Kosovo President Sejdiu as party president over former Speaker Nexhat Daci in an orderly vote at a December 9 party convention. But when Sejdiu presented his list of candidates for the party's powerful General Council, Daci and his supporters rejected it, saying the deck had been stacked against them. As tensions rose, Daci supporters plunged the convention into chaos and violence, throwing chairs and brandishing weapons. After the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) restored order, Sejdiu compromised by expanding the Council from 81 to 107 to include more Daci supporters and three additional diaspora members. USOP issued a statement December 10 congratulating Sejdiu and criticising the malcontents who resorted to violence on the floor of the congress. Sejdiu's victory is important, but the thin margin of his win and the open factionalization within the LDK party may have consequences for the governing coalition's support in the Kosovo Assembly and lead to demands from opposition leader Thaci for inclusion in the Kosovo government. END SUMMARY. Convention Begins Well... ¶2. (SBU) The December 9 convention of the ruling LDK party to select the next party president began peacefully, with delegates choosing President Fatmir Sejdiu over former Speaker Nexhat Daci by a secret ballot of 189 to 160. While the vote was closer than most had expected -- Sejdiu had reportedly garnered more than 220 signatures of 355 delegates in the pre-election campaign, but many Daci votes were likely bought and paid for -- the result was accepted by Daci and his supporters and the two were given thunderous applause by all assembled delegates after they delivered their pre-vote speeches. Those looking on included PM Ceku, Deputy SRSG Schook, AAK leader Haradinaj, and main opposition leader Thaci. USOP was represented by a POL/ECON officer and a POL FSN. But Losers Stoke Trouble ¶3. (SBU) Trouble began soon after, however, as Daci and his supporters complained that Sejdiu had stacked the deck against them on election of the powerful 81-member Steering Council, an executive body which implements party policy and selects the new party presidency. Delegates were allowed to choose from a ballot of 104: 77 proposed by Sejdiu plus up to 27 proposed by others (mainly Daci supporters). As a steady steam of delegates, including those from the diaspora who claimed under-representation, took the floor to vent, tensions began to rise. Former LDK spokesman Lulzim Zeneli, a Daci ally, announced that Daci was withdrawing his name, whereupon many Daci supporters among the 27 additional candidates did the same. Daci-supporting delegate and well-known thug Gani Geci then threatened to "kill someone" if the vote on the Council went forward; he proposed postponing the vote for a week, which Sejdiu refused. At this point, several more Geci brothers, a notorious Drenica-based clan known for their violent methods, and others came to the floor, yelling and confronting Sejdiu ally Deputy PM Haziri, and the room erupted into chaos. Chairs were thrown, guns were drawn, and Sejdiu and others were pulled into a back room by security as someone sprayed pepper spray into the melee. ¶4. (SBU) After almost an hour, the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) restored enough order for the delegates to return to their seats. Sejdiu then offered a compromise by expanding the Council to 107, to include all the candidates proposed plus three additional delegates from the diaspora. The delegates swiftly approved this and the convention ended. Police later arrested two delegates, reportedly including a Geci brother. Comment PRISTINA 00001059 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) The donnybrook on the floor of the congress hall is and should be profoundly embarassing for Kosovo. The fact that it was instigated by well-known thugs does not detract from the sad fact that, for Kosovo's supporters and detractors, the TV images will define local politics for a long time. However, Sejdiu's victory is a positive and important development, as is the election of an LDK General Council stacked mainly with Sejdiu supporters. The GC must meet within a week or so to select the party presidency, which -- if Sejdiu holds firm -- will also be composed of his supporters. Sejdiu will officially "freeze" his party president job once all this is in place, and hand over (so he has told COM) to Prizren mayor and current LDK presidency member Eqrem Kryeziu as his principal deputy. Kryeziu is a solid player, very useful in mobilizing support for Sejdiu. ¶6. (C) However, the now open split within the party could lead to a variety of consequences. Daci and his people have been deliberating their options, only commenting publicly that they remain adamant in their refusal to accept the election of the LDK General Council. It is possible they will form a new party altogether, though that seems unlikely at least until they exhaust their options within the LDK and attempt to pressure Sejdiu into making personnel concessions for the sake of "party unity." More critically, Daci probably controls up to a dozen or so LDK votes in the Kosovo Assembly within the existing LDK caucus; he might use the threat of bringing down the government to again pressure Sejdiu for concessions. And finally, Hashim Thaci's long-held desire to enter government now has greatly improved prospects, despite general LDK distaste for him and his party, simply because the numbers in the Assembly may force Sejdiu to seek new votes to maintain his majority. ¶7. (C) All of this will play out in the next few weeks. In the short-term, it is vital that we give Sejdiu full support as the legitimate party leader. COM met with him publicly December 10 and USOP issued a statement deploring the violence and welcoming the new leadership. COM also met with Thaci to reinforce U.S. equities, warning him that Daci remains an unacceptable partner (a point Thaci clearly understood) and underscoring that it would be an unwise time for Thaci to pressure Sejdiu on a new government, both because Sejdiu will need time to consolidate his hold on the party and because a new government could hamper the transition process from UNMIK to the PISG. Thaci was quite willing to allow time for Sejdiu to do his LDK business, and emphatically reaffirmed his commitment to the Unity Team, but equally open in his desire to use the new political calculus to force the ouster of Ramush Haradinaj's AAK from the governing coalition and substitute his own PDK. Thaci pledged to hold off on any action until things settled down, but would not consent to give up his government aspirations altogether. We will keep in close touch with him, as well as Sejdiu and all the relevant players, over the next days and weeks, and keep everyone focused on the immediate task at hand: support for Sejdiu and backing for the new party leadership. ¶8. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable in its entirety for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. KAIDANOW