Early parliamentary elections are being held in Kosovo after the previous parliament was unable to elect a president by the March deadline.
This is the third election in 16 months, with the unstable political situation negatively impacting both the country’s economy and EU aspirations.
Why are snap elections being held in Kosovo?
The election was called after the main political parties were unable to elect a new head of state to replace former President Vojosa Ousmane within the required time frame.
Although Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s center-left Vetevendosje party has a clear parliamentary majority, the president must receive at least 80 votes in the 120-member assembly.
In recent parliamentary votes, there were not enough legislators in the House to allow valid elections due to the opposition’s boycott.
At least one major opposition force is required to support any candidate, as Vetevendosje and his allies do not constitute a sufficient quorum.
Who is running in Sunday’s elections in Kosovo?
Kurti regained his parliamentary majority along with ethnic minority MPs in an election held in December following an inconclusive vote in February 2025.
He is now being challenged by the two main opposition parties, the Democratic Party of Kosova (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK).
Former President Osmani is running on the LDK list in the election, as she no longer supports Kurti after he refused to support her for a second term in office.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following the 1998–1999 war, where Serbia withdrew following NATO bombing.
Kosovo is recognized by the US and most EU countries, but not Serbia and its allies, Russia and China.
Pristina and Belgrade have been told they must set aside their differences if they want to make progress in their EU membership bids.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and closed at 7:00 pm, with preliminary results expected late Sunday.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
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