Center-right parties lead in Kosovo’s municipal vote

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Center-right opposition parties in Kosovo are leading in municipal elections held Sunday in the small Balkan nation but early results suggest that runoffs will still be needed to decide half of the winners. About 1.9 million voters were eligible to cast ballots for mayors for 38 municipalities and 1,000 town hall lawmakers. With about 25% of the vote counted, election officials said preliminary results showed that 19 communes will need runoffs in a month to elect their mayors. The main contest will be for Pristina, the capital, where a runoff will be needed. The party of Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority, which is close to the Serbian government, has won most of the seats in northern Kosovo.