Democratic Party of Kosovo

Democratic Party of Kosovo Partia Demokratike e Kosovës Demokratska partija Kosova
Leader	Hashim Thaçi
Founded	May 14, 1999
Headquarters	Pristina, Kosovo
Ideology	Albanian nationalism, Social democracy, Social liberalism, Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-left
International affiliation	None
European affiliation	None
Colours	Red, Black
Assembly	34 / 120
Website
http://www.pdk-ks.org/
Politics of Kosovo Political parties Elections

Republic of Kosovo
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Kosovo
Constitution Constitution Human rights
Legislature Assembly Chairman Jakup Krasniqi
Judiciary Constitutional Court
Executive President Atifete Jahjaga Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi Cabinet
Divisions Districts Municipalities
Elections Parliamentary: 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 Local: 2007, 2009 Referendums: 1991 Political parties PDK LDK AAK SLS VV AKR
Foreign policy Ministry of Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj Foreign relations Declaration of independence Diplomatic recognition ICJ advisory opinion Accession to European Union Diplomatic missions in Kosovo Diplomatic missions of Kosovo Belgrade–Pristina negotiations
Other countries Atlas Politics portal

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (Albanian: Partia Demokratike e Kosovës, PDK) is the largest political party in Kosovo . It is a social democratic^{[citation needed]} party with social liberal tendencies. It is the main centre-left party in Kosovo.

It is headed by Hashim Thaçi, the political leader of the former Kosovo Liberation Army. The first post-war Prime Minister of Kosovo, Bajram Rexhepi, belongs to the Democratic Party of Kosovo. The party stands for an independent, free and democratic Kosovo, as do all other ethnic-Albanian political parties.

History

The party was founded on May 14, 1999 from the political wing of the Kosovo Liberation Army as the Party for the Democratic Progress of Kosovo (Partia për Progres Demokratik e Kosovës), but was renamed on May 21, 2000. The party has increased in size and regional scope, initially winning governing spot in the elections of 2007 and winning most of the regional elections in the municipal elections of 2009. PDK renewed its governing mandate after winning the elections of 2010.

Members of the Party for the Democratic Progress of Kosovo were blacklisted in 2001 Wikisource:Executive Order 13219.

In the 2004 legislative elections, the party won 28.9% of the popular vote and 30 out of 120 seats in the Assembly of Kosovo; in 2007 PDK won a majority for the first time with 35% of the vote. In 2010's disputed elections, PDK won again with 32% of the vote.

Elections 2010

Parliamentary elections were held on 12 December 2010, the first such elections organized by Kosovans since their declaration of independence. After early results, Hashim Thaçi, who was on course to gain 32 per cent of the vote, claimed victory for PDK, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. He said he intended to continue governing for another 4 years. After accusations of vote-rigging, voting was repeated in several municipalities. With more than 30 per cent of the vote, Thaçi formed a coalition with the Alliance for New Kosovo (AKR), led by the current president, Behgjet Pacolli. It was in fourth place with 8 percent of the vote.

The turnout at the election was significantly higher than usual, augmented by Serbs who decided to vote in the disputed republic. Following the confirmation of the final election results, PDK and AKR formed a government with a program dedicated to EU integrations. The new government included many of the younger generation of PDK members, such as Bedri Hamza, Memli Krasniqi, Vlora Citaku, Blerand Stavileci, Petrit Selimi, etc.

See also

• Democratic League of Kosovo
• Alliance for the Future of Kosovo
• Reformist Party ORA
• New Kosovo Alliance

Notes and references

Notes:

a.

^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 101 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References:

External links

• Partia Demokratike e Kosovës The official website