Kosovo vote marred by allegations of fraud

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo's election authorities were nearing the end of a recount of nearly 40 percent of votes cast in last month's general election, an official said Tuesday, following complaints of widespread fraud in the country's first poll since it declared its independence from Serbia.

Ballots from 700 polling stations out of 760 across Kosovo where irregularities were reported have already been recounted, said Fehmi Ajvazi, a spokesman for the Central Election Commission.

The commission agreed on a recount just days after the Dec. 12 poll when candidates for the 120-seat legislature complained of widespread fraud. Suspicion arose in poling station where monitors complained that votes for party candidates exceeded those cast for a single political party. Voters in Kosovo are asked to choose a political party and up to five party candidates.

Results from the recount are expected late Wednesday. The final result is not likely to change the winner of the poll, but will affect who makes it into the 120-seat parliament. Initial preliminary results gave incumbent Prime Minister Hashim Thaci the lead over his political rivals.

The commission has also ordered a new vote be held in three regions, home to over 100,000 out of 1.6 million registered voters and a partial new vote in two other regions. The vote is to be held on Jan. 9. Over 710,000 people voted in the Dec. 12 poll.

A panel looking into complaints said in a ruling made public on Dec. 16 that in these regions election officials were "bribed ... ballot boxes stuffed, signatures forged" and there was "pressure and intimidation" upon voters.

Two of the regions where voters will recast ballots are strongholds of Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo.

The recount has cast doubts over the ability of Kosovo's authorities to hold a fraud-free vote, the first such election since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008.

It further tarnishes Kosovo's international image, following a damning report by a European investigator who claims he has evidence Thaci headed an international human organ trafficking ring and is also involved in organized crime.

The allegations made by Council of Europe investigator Dick Marty have rocked Kosovo although Thaci has dismissed them as fabrications and an attack upon Kosovo's claim to statehood.

Kosovo seceded from Serbia after almost a decade of U.N. administration.

So far 72 countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent country, but Serbia has vowed never to accept the move by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.