SOUTHERN SERBIA: ALBANIANS RETURN TO PARLIAMENT, MODERATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000485 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PBTS PGOV PHUM PINR PREL SR SUBJECT: SOUTHERN SERBIA: ALBANIANS RETURN TO PARLIAMENT, MODERATES WIN LOCAL ELECTIONS REF: 08 BELGRADE 18 BELGRADE 00000485 001.2 OF 002 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Albanians in Southern Serbia's Presevo Valley voted in record numbers on May 11 to return one representative to Serbia's national parliament. In local elections, moderate Serb and Albanian parties made gains against their more radical opponents in Bujanovac and Presevo. With no outright majorities and several coalition options, assembly governments will be decided over the next weeks but should result in governments willing to work across ethnic lines and in coordination with Belgrade. End Summary. ALBANIANS RETURN TO PARLIAMENT -------------- ¶2. (U) For the second parliamentary elections in a row, the ethnic Albanians in Serbia participated in national elections. Over 18,000 voters, mostly from Southern Serbia, supported the Coalition of Presevo Valley Albanians. As a minority list, this was enough for one seat in the national parliament. Incumbent Riza Halimi, Party for Democratic Action (PVD) President, headed the list and will return to Belgrade for a second term. Halimi told POLOFF on May 12 that the coalition received about 2,000 more votes this year than in January 2007. Turnout was markedly higher in Bujanovac (where PVD holds power) than in Presevo, where hard-liner Ragmi Mustafa's Party of Democratic Albanians (PDSh) is in charge. Halimi said that although Mustafa did not publicly call for a boycott, he did not support the list, and this resulted in fewer votes out of Presevo. HARDLINERS MARGINALIZED IN PRESEVO -------------- ¶3. (U) Mayor Ragmi Mustafa and other Albanian hard-line leaders lost seats in local elections in Presevo (95% Albanian) to moderate parties who are willing to work with Belgrade. Halimi's PVD won 13 out of 38 seats while Mustafa took 12. Nasir Aziri, formally a member of Mustafa's PDSh, had formed his own list out of dissatisfaction with Mustafa's poor relations with the United States and other international donors and won the remaining 13 seats. Aziri told POLOFF on May 11 that he had decided to challenge Mustafa in the elections because of Mustafa's deteriorating relations with the USG and other key international donors. Even though Mustafa refused to publicly commit to the Presevo Valley's integration into Serbian institutions, he was willing to meet and cooperate with U.S. officials. Aziri had publicly supported Halimi's bid for national parliament. He added that he would look forward to repairing relations with the international community. Aziri pared off four seats, significantly weakening Mustafa's position. Skender Destani's Democratic Union of the Valley (BDL) won five seats in local elections and will likely negotiate a local governing coalition with Aziri and Halimi. The small Serb community managed to win two seats as well, ensuring multiethnic representation in the assembly. BUJANOVAC: SRS DOWN, MULTI-ETHNIC GOVERNMENT POSSIBLE -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) In ethnically mixed Bujanovac, non-Radical Serbs performed well enough to allow formation of a moderate, multiethnic municipal government. Halimi's PVD won a plurality and will take 12 of 40 seats. Following previous elections in June 2006, there were not enough democratic-bloc Serbs to form a government with moderate Albanians (from Halimi's PVD),forcing an alliance with hard-liner Jonuz Musliu's Movement for Democratic Progress (LPD). This time, the Radicals fared poorly, dropping from 12 to 8 seats while the Democratic Party, BELGRADE 00000485 002.2 OF 002 Democratic Party of Serbia and a group of citizens led by former Mayor Stojanca Arsic won a total of 9. Musliu won six, while a splinter of his party won three seats. While Roma parties won in June 2006, they fell just short of winning any seats this time. Outgoing Mayor Nagip Arifi (PVD) told POLOFF on May 12 that his party would make efforts to build a multi-ethnic, moderate government. (Arifi will likely become Bujanovac assembly speaker.) His successor, Shaip Kamberi (also PVD),told poloff that the PVD and other moderates "now had to deliver" to maintain the edge over Mustafa, Musliu and other anti-integration forces. Kamberi, an International Visitor Program alumnus and Democracy Grant recipient, said he would work to include Serbs in local government and expected them to agree to participate. Kamberi thought it would finally be easier to form a national minority council of Albanians, which Mustafa had previously obstructed over differences with Halimi over leadership of the body. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (U) The results of local and national elections in Southern Serbia were as good as could be expected for regional stability and the integration of this region into Serbia. The Embassy enjoys productive relationships with Halimi, Kamberi, and Aziri, as well as with the local Serb leaders. The USG will continue to serve as a bridge between those local leaders and the Serbian Government's Coordination Body for Southern Serbia. Once governments are constituted, it will be time to return to work on action items for 2008 (reftel) alongside the new local leaders and Belgrade. End Comment. MUNTER