Local Self-Government in Kosovo: Painstakingly Slow

AIM Pristina, February 28, 2001

The Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, a party that won the support of almost two-thirds of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, has given itself a one-month deadline to establish executive bodies at the local level. To people who follow the state of affairs in Kosovo it might appear that the Alliance has overestimated its capabilities. The job does not seem easy at all, given that the vote was the first held in free and democratic conditions. But what is even more important is that it requires lots of effort, ability and flexibility in dealing with opposition political parties.

On the other hand, this party, which during the past 16 months (that is, since the war ended and until local elections were held) aspired to play the role of the leading party, did not offer much resistance in the process of transfer of power in municipal bodies. From this, however, instances in which the transfer was delayed should be exempt: all constituent sessions of municipal assemblies were postponed because supporters of Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo, the ruling party until the elections (of course, side by side with international administrators), demanded that Albanian flags also be displayed in the halls where meetings are to be held. This demand had to be approved by the international community, and was amply used to buy time. Many cynically noted that the party which "had pretended to be in power" until Oct. 28, 2000, Election Day, could have raised the issue of national symbols while still in office... The appointment of elected officials was also delayed and only a symbolic number of candidates for municipality presidents actually took over. Some refused to take office quoting "objective" reasons, but rumor has it that their main reason was fear for their personal safety...

The imprimatur on the Pristina list, otherwise the president of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, served only as bait for voters. Or at least this is how many interpreted the fact that after being the leading candidate he was not appointed to a single office in municipal bodies in Kosovo's capital. The time the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo wasted to find the best people for the job of municipal officials was interpreted by opposition supporters as a lack on its part of people with the necessary expertise to hold public office.

The second half of December and the first half of January passed in attempts to appoint heads of executive and municipal assembly bodies. And finally, the process was brought to an end. In all 30 municipalities the presidents of municipal assemblies and councils took office, and in the three municipalities with a Serb majority these officials were appointed by the international administrator, honoring the will of the local Serbs. Only in Serb enclaves in municipalities in which ethnic Albanians are a majority, such as Gracanica, Laplje Selo, Priluzje, Kosovo Polje, Obilic and some smaller settlements, Serbs did not get their local bodies, but they also did not participate in local elections. Only one Serb representative confirmed he would accept to be a member of the municipal council in Novo Brdo, representing the interests of the local Serbs from the villages of Bostane, Jasenovik and Ljestare.

There are also municipalities in which members of other ethnic communities -- the Turkish and the Bosniak -- have become local officials. The example of Gnjilane is interesting in that respect. Namely, representatives of the Serb community, together with Turkish and Roma representatives, attended the constituent session of the municipal council.

The obstacles the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo faced in forming new local assemblies are ostensibly unnoticeable. The promises the opposition leaders made to international representatives before the elections that they would acknowledge the election results prevented them from openly hindering the forming of new local executive bodies. There were, however, numerous delays, verbal provocations which resulted in the opposition candidates leaving the sessions or their failure to attend, which in towns such as Malisevo, for example, where the opposition controls almost one-half of local seats, prevented the process from moving ahead. All this boiled down to a silent boycott aimed at depicting the largest Kosovo political party as incapable of organizing and controlling local government. The opposition press used exactly these arguments against the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo in its editorials and articles written 100 days after the election by rivals and staunch opponents of this political force.

International representatives, however, organized seminars for new local officials in which experts engaged by the OSCE explained the manner of organizing and implementing power at the local level in accordance with democratic rules. The outcome should serve to finally end the process of forming new local bodies and mark the beginning of making good on promises made during the election campaign...

But before this takes place, however, there are still many tasks to be accomplished. In addition to present problems, such as poor security and lack of regulation in almost all areas, rampant lawlessness and legal infractions continue to discourage all those who expected the elections to mark the beginning of the normalization process.

That a shift is not around the corner is confirmed by the fact that many municipal assemblies have not yet adopted statutes, their basic legal documents. Some local officials assisted by experts managed to create a legal framework for passing the most important municipal document, whereas others believe that a public debate in which citizens should say what sort of conditions they would like to live in is needed. Determining a budget is also a big stepping stone, because in most municipalities there is no economic activity whatsoever. If over 90 days was needed just to elect municipal officials, then a much longer period could be necessary to accomplish other tasks that should provide for normal operation of local administrations and services. It is frequently said that the new officials lack expertise, and that the major criterion for their appointment was their party affiliation. The Democratic Alliance of Kosovo is constantly being accused of that. Opposition parties denounce the party for wanting to dominate, but on the other hand they refuse to assume their posts and responsibilities, and constantly object to the appointment of experts, claiming that they are insufficiently skilled, although they were selected through a public tender. Generally speaking, the opposition's activities boil down to boycotting municipal assemblies and to criticism of the newly-formed municipal bodies. Without offering any alternatives, the opposition is obviously trying to boost its otherwise poor rating by putting the others down. While political leaders are openly or secretly struggling over power, resorting to all means available, ordinary people can only conclude that there are not many people in Kosovo who are looking for ways to restore normal living conditions.

Tahire GOVORI

(AIM)