Parliamentary elections will be held in Kosovo today, BTA reported. They will determine the new composition of the 120-seat parliament for the next four years.
For the first time since Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, the parliament has completed its entire four-year term, the Associated Press notes.
These are the ninth parliamentary elections in Kosovo since the end of the war in the former Serbian region (1998-1999) between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists and after the 78-day NATO bombing campaign that forced Serbian forces to leave Kosovo. Serbia and Kosovo Serbs do not recognize Kosovo's independence.
In the 120-seat Kosovo parliament, 20 seats are guaranteed for minority communities - Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians and Gorani. Of these, 10, the largest number, are reserved for the country's ethnic Serbs, who number about 100,000 according to Reuters estimates.
Since 2022, when Serb representatives left Kosovo's institutions, Serbs in northern Kosovo have boycotted partial local elections, a referendum related to local ethnic Albanian mayors elected due to the Serb boycott, as well as the country's census. This time, Serbs are expected to vote to secure representation in parliament.
28 political entities with 1,280 candidates are participating in the elections. In addition to the eight parties or coalitions of ethnic Albanians, who make up about 92 percent of the country's 1.6 million population, seven Kosovo Serb parties, three each of the country's Bosniaks and Turks, two each of the Roma and Ashkali, and one each of the Egyptians and Gorani are competing for seats in the Kosovo parliament. There is also one independent candidate in the election today - Fatmir Bytuci.
The main race in the elections is between the four largest political entities. These are the ruling left-wing nationalist Movement “Self-Determination” (LVV) of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of Memli Krasniqi, the center-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) of Lumir Abdixiku and the coalition around the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, ABK – INITIATIVE (AAK – NISMA).
The parliamentary elections in Kosovo are important for the election of the future Prime Minister and the future government of the country. Each party has its own official candidate for Prime Minister, who goes “in package“ with it.
The candidates for Prime Minister of Kosovo are four and are the leaders of the main parties in the election race, with the only exception being the largest opposition party, the PDK. These are Albin Kurti (LVV), Bedri Hamza (PDK), Lumir Abdijiku (DSK/LDK) and Ramush Haradinaj (ABK – INITIATIVE/AAK – NISMA).
The parliamentary elections in Kosovo today are a kind of vote of confidence for the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. He faces accusations from the opposition of worsening Kosovo's relations with strategic partners - the US and the EU.
Both Washington and Brussels have criticized a number of actions by the Kosovo government related to northern Kosovo, which is predominantly populated by Serbs. What the Kosovo authorities call “extension of sovereignty“ and the rule of law throughout the country have often been called “unilateral and uncoordinated actions“ by the EU and the US. Both Washington and Brussels have accused Kurti of undermining fragile ethnic relations in the region.
Senior US officials said in March 2024 that they were having problems communicating with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and the EU imposed punitive measures on the country in late June 2023 over escalating tensions in northern Kosovo.
These include temporarily suspending the work of EU-Kosovo joint committees under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and freezing invitations to high-level meetings and bilateral visits, except for those related to addressing the crisis in northern Kosovo within the framework of the EU-led Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
The country's new parliament and government will be tasked with continuing the dialogue with Serbia under the auspices of the EU, for which a new special envoy has been appointed – Peter Sørensen, and will determine Kosovo's path to integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.
Private polls cited by Reuters show 40 percent support for Prime Minister Kurti's ruling party. In the previous parliamentary elections in 2021, it received 50.2 percent of the vote.
According to sociological surveys cited by Agence France-Presse, the “Self-Determination“ Movement will receive 50 percent support.
According to information from the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kosovo, the number of Kosovo citizens eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections on February 9, 2025, is 2,075,868 people. Of these, 1,970,944 voters are on the voter lists for the territory of Kosovo and 104,924 people are voters abroad.
A team of 100 observers from the EU, 18 from the Council of Europe and several other international and local organizations will monitor today's vote, the Associated Press notes.