UN to announce Kosovo assembly elections results this weekend

The head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Hans Haekkerup, plans to announce on Saturday the official results of last week's legislative assembly elections, according to an UNMIK spokeswoman.

Depending on the outcome of the complaints period, the inaugural session of the legislative Assembly could be held at the end of next week if all complaints about the elections have been resolved and all Assembly members properly registered, UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel told a press briefing on Thursday in Pristina.

Mr. Haekkerup will open the first session of the Assembly, Ms. Manuel said, while the three parties that obtained the most votes in the 17 November election, as well as a representative of the Kosovo Serb community and one from the parties representing other non-Albanian communities, will nominate the seven members of the Presidency.

According to the spokeswoman, the party having obtained the highest number of votes in the election will state which of its two appointees to the Presidency will serve as President of the Assembly. "The Assembly will then vote to endorse the Presidency of the Assembly," she explained, and from that moment on, the President of the Assembly would chair the session, deciding the future steps to be taken by the Assembly and setting dates.

Preliminary results announced earlier this week showed that the Democratic League of Kosovo headed by Ibrahim Rugova was leading in the voting.