Kosovo ruling party set to come first in election

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's ruling party ruling party is set to win the most seats in Kosovo's elections but will not achieve a majority, the election commission said Monday

Kurti's Vetevendosje (VV) party was set to win about 41% of the vote with 90% of ballots counted, according to commission data.

The result would be a drop from the over 50% that he secured in 2021.

This means the Vetevendosje (Self-Determination Movement) party would need to form a coalition to stay in power in a country whose politics are dominated by the relationship with neighboring Serbia and Serbs within its borders.

Kurti proclaimed victory for his Vetevendosje (Self-Determination Movement) party late on Sunday. 

"We are the first party, the winning party that will create the next government," Kurti told reporters. "We will continue to finish the work that we have started."

He said he will form the new government without hinting who could be a potential coalition partner.

Opposition concedes victory to Kurti's party

The election was conducted "without problems that could violate its integrity," according to the Central Election Commission.

It said voter turnout was over 40%.

Preliminary results published by the election commission, with more than 73% percent of the votes counted, gave Vetevendosje 41.99%, according to AP news agency. 

Democratic Party of Kosovo, the PDK, came second with 22.68%. 

In third place was the Democratic League of Kosovo, or LDK, with 17.9%. 

The LDK conceded Vetevendosje victory on Sunday evening, according to Kosovo news site, Prishtina Insights and Reuters news agency. 

As per Kosovo's constitution, 20 of 120 seats in the parliamentary assembly are reserved for non-Albanian communities, such as Serbs, Bosniaks and Turks.

Why aren't election results already finalized?

Kosovo's election commission said it had experienced issues with the electronic vote counting system, both Prishtina Insights and Reuters reported. 

Because of this, it was not able to publish the results as expected late on Sunday.

"The CEC staff and … CEC members will be here all night working on entering all the data from the forms of the polling stations manually into the system," the electoral commission chair Kreshnik Radoniqi told journalists.

"We apologize to all Kosovo citizens," he said.

What is Kurti's party platform?

Kurti's government seeks to strengthen Kosovo's institutions and enact economic reforms such as a higher minimum wage and subsidies for women and children.

Vetevendosje has also sought to stamp out Serbian institutions in ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo, such as closing down Serbian post offices and effectively banning the dinar.

These moves have angered ethnic Serbians in northern Kosovo, and have also escalated tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.

The United States and the European Union have also criticized Kurti for taking unilateral actions in the north, sparking fears of destabilization in the Balkans.

Who were the main opposition parties?

Led by prime minister candidate Bedri Hamzahe, the center-right PDK was the top opposition party in the election and focused on boosting the economy. The DPK sought to repair Kosovo's ties with the United States and European Union. 

The center-right LDK also called for boosting relations with the US and EU and urged more dialogue with Serbia.

The Serb List party vowed to protect the rights of ethnic Serbians. The party has close relations with the Serbian government and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic. 

Kosovo became independent from Serbia in 2008 with the support of the United States.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent country. 

This article was updated on February 10, 2025 to reflect the latest events.

Who are the main opposition parties?  

Led by prime minister candidate Bedri Hamzahe, the center-right PDK is the top opposition party in the election and has focused on boosting the economy. The DPK has sought to repair Kosovo's ties with the US and EU. 

The center-right LDK, another opposition party, has also called for boosting relations with the US and EU and urged more dialogue with Serbia. Its prime minister candidate is economist Lumir Abdixhiku.  

The Serb List party, led by Zlatan Elek, has vowed to protect the rights of ethnic Serbians. The party has close relations with the Serbian government and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic. 

Kosovo became independent from Serbia in 2008 with the support of the United States.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent country. 

This article was updated on February 10, 2025 to reflect polls closing.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse and Kieran Burke