The Albanian ethnic minority in Serbia will be represented in parliament by three MPs.
The official results released by the Serbian central election commission two weeks after the June 21 elections showed that the Party for Democratic Action gained three seats in the 250-seat parliament.
This is the highest number of representatives for ethnic Albanians in the post-Milosevic period.
Albanian acting foreign minister Genc Cakaj worked to unite the Albanian political parties in Serbia, and push for participation in elections. It was followed by a joint statement with Kosovo’s then foreign minister Glauk Konjufca, and a visit to the region by Cakaj before elections.
The Serbian government has allegedly purged thousands of Albanians from the Civil Registry in the region where they live.
Elections were marred by irregularities despite opposition’s boycott. Only 48.9% of 6,584,376 registered voters participated, while the government desperately attempted to reach at least 50% participation by various pressures on the voters.
President Aleksandar Vucic’s party won 60.65 percent of the votes, or 188 seats. Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic’s party won 10.38 percent of the votes, or 32 seats. Five more parties also won 30 seats in total.
