Kurti wins again in Kosovo, but without a majority to close the crisis
He has lost support and will have to reach an agreement with the opposition to unblock the election of the president
BarcelonaPrime Minister Albin Kurti's party has won Kosovo's parliamentary elections this Sunday, the Balkan country's third in just 18 months, but it is expected to fall short of the majority needed to end the political crisis. The youngest country, and one of the poorest in Europe aspiring to join the EU, has been without a functional government for much of the past year. Deep divisions in parliament have blocked the election of a speaker and a new head of state.
Kurti's Vetevendosje party leads the count with 43% of the vote, with 73% of ballots counted. It will still need coalition partners to form a new government, and will have to negotiate with rivals to secure the two-thirds majority needed to elect a new president. The Democratic Party of Kosovo has obtained 22% of the vote, while the Democratic League of Kosovo has come in at 18%.
Vetevendosje won 51.1% in the last elections in December, above the 42% in February 2025, but failed to agree with other parties on a candidate for the presidency, which is largely ceremonial. This deadlock led to the dissolution of parliament in April and to another early election.
Economic discontent
Kosovo's citizens are eager for the political blockade to end, while demanding higher wages and more affordable products to benefit from a growing economy. "The political class must be willing to reach an agreement. In recent years, a very deep division has been created, and this must end," a voter, Fatos Selimi, told Reuters.
The EU has urged Kosovo's politicians – which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the support of the United States and the EU – to create strong institutions capable of driving the reforms needed to join the bloc.
Kurti's party first came to power in 2021 with a more nationalist and welfare-state-focused agenda. Like all of Kosovo's parties, it has a pro-Western orientation. It also opposes making further concessions to Serbia, with whom relations remain tense. There are approximately 2.1 million registered voters, a figure higher than the 1.6 million inhabitants residing in Kosovo due to the large diaspora, mainly established in Western Europe, which tends to support Kurti's party.