Kosovo's Opposition Uniting, May Form Government

Three opposition parties in Kosovo have agreed to unite and plan to form a government following the June 8 parliamentary election.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won the most votes in the snap election, but is struggling to form a parliamentary majority.

The emerging coalition groups the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which placed second in the election, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of former guerrilla commander Ramush Haradinaj, and a splinter group from Thaci's PDK.

According to the deal, Haradinaj will be prime minister.

Haradinaj briefly served as prime minister in 2004-2005 before stepping down to stand trial for war crimes in The Hague.

Haradinaj was twice acquitted by the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on war crimes charges stemming from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian insurgency against Serbia in 1998-1999.
Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa