Elections in Kosovo
Parliamentary elections to the Assembly of Kosovo (, Serbian Cyrillic: , transliterated ) have been held four times since 1999 with the latest in December 2010. The Assembly was an institution within the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) established by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to provide 'provisional, democratic self-government' in advance of a decision on the final status of Kosovo. Kosovo, formerly a province of Serbia, came under UN administration in 1999 and unilaterally declared its independence in February 2008. The Assembly elected in 2007 continued in office after the declaration of independence . Since the Kosovo War, the country has held four parliamentary elections, one every three years, in 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010 respectively. The first two were administered by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the second two monitored by the international community, with the OSCE and other observing groups concluding that these elections were generally fair and free. Under Kosovo's Constitutional Framework, which established the PISG, elections were to be held every three years for the Assembly. The Assembly then in turn elects a president and prime minister. The Assembly had 120 members elected  for a three-year term: 100 members elected by proportional representation, and 20 members representing national minorities (10 Serbian, 4 Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian, 3 Bosniak, 2 Turkish and 1 Gorani). Under the new Constitution of 2008, the guaranteed seats for Serbs and other minorities remains the same, but in addition they may gain extra seats according to their share of the vote. Kosovo has a multi-party system, with numerous parties and the system of proportional representation and guaranteed minority representation means that no one party is likely to have a parliamentary majority. In addition, a minimum number of  Ministers were and remain reserved for Serbs and other minorities. The voting age in Kosovo is 18 years old. Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija. According to UNMIK practice, Serbian national referendums and elections for Parliament and President were allowed in Kosovo, but local elections were organized separately by UNMIK and the PISG. In spite of this, Serbia carried out local elections in Kosovo in 2008; these were not recognized by UNMIK. The Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija is a local government created by the Serbian minority in the Kosovo city of Mitrovica in response to the 2008 Kosovo  declaration of independence. The first elections for the Assembly took place on May 11, 2008 to coincide with the 2008 Serbian local elections. In the Brussels agreement, the government of Serbia agreed to integrate Kosovo Serb political structures into the government of Kosovo. Composition. The seats in the Assembly are divided as follows: DS is boycotting the Assembly for now, stating that it would wait until the new government is formed in Serbia which would then decide whether the Assembly is a good way of promoting the Kosovan Serbs' issues. International response. The elections which are basis for the Community  Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija were not recognized by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) or the Republic of Kosovo. The creation of the assembly has been condemned as an act aimed at destabilizing Kosovo by Kosovar president Fatmir Sejdiu, while UNMIK denied that this election was a serious issue as the assembly will not have an operative role.