Fehim Rexepi looks at the internal political events within the strongest Kosovo Albnian party, LDK, in the March 3, 1998 issue of the Novi Sad weekly "Nezavisni."

In the atmosphere of awaiting what will tomorrow bring, a Third regular Congress of the Democrtic Union of Kosovo (LDK) was recently held in Pristina. If it were not for the fact that LDK is absolutely the dominant political factor in the public life of Kosovo Albanians, and if it were not for the fact that it is the backbone of the parallel authorities in Kosovo, whose leadership , headed by Ibrahim Rugova is recognized as the Albanian political partner, what occurred at this Congress would be mostly noted in the media columns dealing with gossip and cheap entertainment.

The Congress was concluded at 10 pm., after being 10 hours in session, but 240 delegates, present guests and journalists, were not able precisely to say whether the congress really concluded its work and whether it has chosen the new leadership of the LDK. After enormous political quarrels, many appeals to guard the unity of the leadership, fan club cheers and jeers and a lot more, Ibrahim Rugova stepped in front of the congress with the proposal that, contrary to the statute, the session accepts and proclaims, through general acclamation the new members of the Main Board, all those who comprised the top of the LDK in the last four years. Since the situation was quite tense, and Rugova proclaimed this as the final decision, it seems that everybody remained dissatisfied with this decision ­ his supporters, as well as his opponents.

The divisions within the LDK were a known fact, but the problem was, and still remains, how much are these divisions of conceptual nature, and how much the result of financial, material and other ambitions and interests of individuals, groups and cliques within the organization which still has not cleared internally whether it should act as a political party or as a national movement.

The fact that a split is coming bout in the LDK leadership could be sensed by the fact that important changes in the statute were placed as points of order ahead of the discussion of the work of the party in the last four years. That is, Rugova proposed that the party president, himself, is given the right to propose two thirds of the candidates for the Executive Board, 55 of them, while the congress should propose 18 of them. After great resistance from his rivals, Rugova accepted that this number be raised to 20.

Even with hard criticism and accusations that all this has been prepared behind the scenes by Rugova?s clique, in a rooting atmosphere in which it was very hard to discern who is voting for what, Rugova proclaimed the proposed changes as accepted. At that moment it became clear that Rugova, through certain manipulations, gained the majority of delegates at the local party elections.

After the atmosphere got heated up even further, up until then vice president of the LDK Hidajet Hyseni withdrew his candidacy for new post in the Board, which was followed by four outgoing members of the Presidency, as well as a dozen other, very renowned party activists.

Rugova was late in realizing that he has to accept a compromise. He proposed that all candidates become the members of the Executive Board. As the atmosphere turned into a pandemonium, he gave a short break, and then immediately after informed the Congress of his proposal, proclaiming it as accepted.

Source: Novi Sad weekly "Nezavisni," March 3, 1998