PRISTINA, Kosovo, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Turnout was light Sunday in local elections in Kosovo, the first since the country declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, officials said.
Early results put voter turnout at 32.86 percent of registered voters. Among the voting municipalities are three in which Serbs are the majority population and Serbia was urging them not to vote, saying conditions for their participation have not been satisfied by Kosovo, Serbian news outlet B29 reports.
Many Serbs in Kosovo oppose the declaration of independence. But local Serb authorities are urging Kosovo Serbs to vote to gain local control in the three municipalities of Gracanica, Klokot and Ranilug, B29 said.
The elections are the first set up independently by the Kosovo government from the country's capitol, Pristina. A number of international organizations, including the European Parliament, were monitoring the elections, B29 reported.
News agency RFE/RL reported an absence of polling stations in some Serb-dominated areas. Election authorities cited "technical difficulties," the agency said.
