Kosovo prime minister: election results in north valid despite violence, low turnout by Serbs

European Union rule of law mission (EULEX) police officers arrive at a vandalised polling station in the northern, Serb-dominated part of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Nov 3, 2013. People in Kosovo are voting in a local election that will test the country's fragile relations with Serbia as both seek to move closer to the European Union. Serb participation in Kosovo's political life is a key element of an EU-brokered deal that seeks to settle the dispute over Kosovo and unlock EU funds. (AP Photo/Zveki) (The Associated Press)

A Kosovo Albanian boy looks at his father as he fills in a ballot at a polling station in Kosovo capital Pristina on Sunday, Nov 3, 2013. People in Kosovo are voting in a local election that will test the country's fragile relations with Serbia as both seek to move closer to the European Union. Serb participation in Kosovo's political life is a key element of an EU-brokered deal that seeks to settle the dispute over Kosovo and unlock EU funds. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) (The Associated Press)

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Kosovo's prime minister says the local election results in northern Kosovo, which were marred by low turnout among Serbs and violence at a polling station, should stand.

Hashim Thaci insisted Monday that the Serb-majority areas in northern Kosovo, who have so far shunned Pristina's authority, now have "legitimate representatives," even though election authorities have not yet decided whether to tally those results.

A group of masked men attacked the polling station in the northern town of Mitrovica on Sunday, forcing the closure of the voting station and evacuation of international monitors.

Participation of minority Serbs in these elections was a key element in an EU-brokered deal between Serbia and Kosovo that seeks to settle their disputes. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move rejected by Belgrade.