Kosovo Votes in First Election

"It's incredibly important for our country," said Tafallari. (Google)

"People are realizing that these local elections aren't just about local issues, they are a kind of referendum on the central government as well," Ilir Deda, executive director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development, told Deutsche Welle.

Kosovars are electing mayors and local council members in 36 municipalities, including the capital Pristina.

Some 74 political parties, coalitions and independent candidates are standing in the election.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and were due to close at 7:00 pm.

The first unofficial results are expected by midnight and a runoff will be held on December 13 in municipalities where candidates fail to win more than 50 percent in the first round.

The vote is monitored by local and international observers, including an EU mission and a European Parliament delegation.

Kosovo has a population of nearly 2.5 million, more than 95 percent of them Albanian Muslims.

Turning Point

The elections are seen as a test of Kosovo's readiness to organize democratic elections on its own.

"It's incredibly important for our country," Driton Tafallari, a member of an NGO coalition called Democracy in Action, which is monitoring the election, told Deutsche Welle.

"It's not an international organization which is doing this, but Kosovo itself."

Since the end of 1998-1999 war, the territory had been run by a United Nations mission until it declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.

So far, 63 countries have recognized Kosovo as a state, including the US and most countries in the EU.

But Serbia, which still does not recognize Kosovo, and the influential Serbian Orthodox Church have urged 120,000 ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to boycott the polls.

Although many Serbs keep strong links with Belgrade, receiving financial and political support, it was not immediately clear how many will abide by the boycott calls.

At least some of 80,000 Serbs living in enclaves in central Kosovo were expected to vote.

Police and NATO-led peacekeeping force have stepped up security after many of the Serbs participating in the polls received threats from Serb nationalist.

"They called me at home and they confronted me when I went out," Jelena Vojinovic, a former medical student, told The Observer.

"They were the hardliners of the town, paid by Belgrade, and they were protecting their pay packets."

In his last address ahead the vote, President Fatmir Sejdiu called for a massive turnout, saying the elections were crucial.

"This Sunday should prove to the world that Kosovo is a stable country that produces peace and stability in the region."