Kosovo postpones election in ethnic-Serb-dominated north

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo has postponed a local election due to be held Dec. 18 in four municipalities with a predominantly ethnic Serb population, in an effort to defuse recent tensions there that have also caused relations with neighboring Serbia to deteriorate further. President Vjosa Osmani on Saturday decided to postpone the voting until April 23 next year. The voting in the four municipalities was due after the ethnic Serb representatives resigned in November over a decision by Kosovo’s government to ban Serbia-issued vehicle license plates. Serbia’s president said Saturday he will formally request NATO permission to deploy Serbian troops in northern Kosovo, while conceding this was most unlikely to be granted.