AFP, April 16, 2001
Kosovo Heads Toward Election in October Or November, Haekkerup Says
DURRES, Apr 16, 2001 -- (AFP)
Legislative elections leading to the formation of Kosovo's first government will be held in late October or early November, UN administrator Hans Haekkerup said Sunday, according to an Albanian government statement.
Haekkerup also said that Serbs who have fled the Yugoslav province, mostly due to revenge attacks from the ethnic Albanian majority, will return to the province before the elections.
"The elections in Kosovo that are expected to be held by the end of the year are very important and will help stability in the Balkans," said Haekkerup before meeting Prime Minister Ilir Meta.
"It belongs to the Kosovo people and their political leaders to manage their problems by themselves," he said.
A working group comprised of seven international representatives and seven Kosovo representatives has been tasked with drafting the guidelines for the elections.
The group will also define the mandate of the new legislative assembly and of the provisional autonomous government in Kosovo, which has been under UN administration since June 1999 when Belgrade withdrew its troops from the territory following a war with NATO.
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