The Serbian region of Kosovo will hold UN-sponsored elections on October 28, a few weeks after Yugoslavia, of which Serbia is a part, held national elections. No one is saying that they will bring overnight peace to Kosovo, but it's a start. Critics, however, argue that Kosovo's fragile society is far from ready to cope with such upheaval and claim that the UN is using the potential of the elections as a diversionary smokescreen to mask fundamental flaws in its weak civil administration of Kosovo.
Basic services needed On the ground, daily life has little in common with a functioning democracy.
The latest UN status report for Kosovo admitted that up to 600,000 people in the region were still reliant on emergency food aid and that 500,000 required proper accommodation before the onset of winter, with only basic, emergency shelter likely to be made available for many. In the capital, Pristina, western aid workers and associated staff represent 20 percent of the population. Daily life in Kosovo bears little resemblance to a functioning democracy. Although over 80 percent of Kosovo's children are presently in school, and a basic level of public transport, medical facilities, and legal services available, continued tensions between Albanians and Serbs seriously disrupt the running of the region, with regular disorder and disenchantment with UN administration rife. Early elections are likely to be a dagger in the heart of democracy.