Elections

They needed two days to do it because history has shown that Serbs are a bit apathetic politically. So the last Saturday and Sunday of October were slated to be polling days. Serbs voted as to whether or not their country should adopt the first constitution ratified since the Milosovic era. Liberals in Kosovo protested the constitution saying it was creted in haste, yet Serbian political leaders from all parties supported it. The major controversy surrounding it regarded it's preamble which declared Kosovo an integral part of the country of Serbia. In the mean time, Kosovo Albanians were not invited to participate in the voting weekend.

Any international working for the UN, US Office, EU or other international organization leading this place into a final status says that this constitution will have nothing to do with the status talks happening here. It's primarily a desperate attempt at a final attack before Serbia loses Kosovo. The desperation became clear when, in the final hours of the election, it seemed as though a majority of the people in Serbia - what was needed to participate in the voting in order for the results to be valid - were not going to the polling booths. But somehow there was a fina surge that pushed the number over the top. Voter turn-out was 53.3% and 96% of the ballots were "yes" votes. Most of what I read states what the typical skeptic would think. People without valid ID were allowed to vote, entire families voted together, multiple voting was not monitered. You can't help but wonder what measured desperate minds took in order to manipulate the results in their favor. Voter turn-out of the Kosovar Serbs was the highest among any Serbian region - well over 80%. These people need all the protection they can get, and it seems as though they believe that remaining a part of Serbia will get it for them. Check out these links for more details.

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/world.aspx?ID=BD4A306103
http://www.examiner.com/a-369313~Serb_Vote_Reasserts_Claim_Over_Kosovo.html?cid=rss-World

As far as I'm concerned, all the Serbs and Albanians need is a weekend of bowling together. Forget elections, status and corruption for a weekend, strap on flourescent orange and green shoes, pick up a pink ball and roll that sucker down the alley. No one is good at this game, making it instantly humbling. And if you are good, no one else really cares because they are all having too much fun being bad at it. With music playing and a warm beer in your hand, the tension lifts, everyone laughs and the disco lights throw shadows over all things bad. It worked with 16 of my Serbian and Albanian students last week. Why can't it work with a country of politicians?!