Kosovo goes to polls today for the second round of municipal elections.

Of 36 municipalities, 21 will be voting on Sunday to decide who will become mayor, after the results of the November 15 election failed to throw up an outright winner in these areas. Polls open at 7am and close at 7pm.

The Central Election Commission said it was ready for Sunday, and had transferred all voting material to the respective polling centers. Police also confirmed on Friday to be ready to protect the votes and ballot boxes with some 4,000 officers.

Close races are expected in Prizren and Suhareke, and competition is likely to be fierce in Gnjilane, Mitrovica and Vuctrin.

There are only two municipalities, Strpce and Novobrdo, where Serb parties, the Serbian Liberal Party, SLS, and SNSD respectively are in competition.

Although the three northern Kosovo municipalities, Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, were won in local elections by AAK and PDK, it is very likely that the two parties will not assume leadership of these municipalities due to the fact that the vast majority of the local population boycotted elections.

The Central Elections Commission (CEC) has nevertheless decided to certify the election results. According to CEC officials it is now up to the Ministry of Local Government Administration (MLGA) to constitute new structures in cooperation with local authorities.

MLGA Minister Sadri Ferati expressed surprise at how the CEC certified results in spite of the low turnout in these municipalities. According to Ferati, the local authorities in the northern municipalities will be constituted via a political decision.