Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling party Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) won the early parliamentary election in Kosovo according to preliminary results, but suffered losses compared to the last election in December 2025.
Jun 08, 2026, 06:43Jun 08, 2026, 06:43
After 97.2 percent of all polling stations were counted, the left-wing party received 43.1 percent of the votes, as the state election commission in the capital Pristina announced.
Albin Kurti speaks to his supporters.Image: keystone
In the December election, Vetevendosje had the support of 51.1 percent of voters. On Sunday, according to the electoral commission, the liberal Democratic Party (PDK) received 21.2 percent, the bourgeois Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) 17.7 percent and the conservative Alliance for the Future (AAK) 7.1 percent of voters.
The third parliamentary election within 16 months was necessary because the previous parliament was unable to elect a new head of state on time. There was a lack of the constitutionally required quorum.
It is currently questionable whether Vetevendosje, as in the last election in December 2025, won a government majority together with MPs from ethnic parties. The preliminary results from Sunday do not include the votes of Kosovar voters abroad. A large number of them vote for the Kurti party, so that their result can improve by two to three percentage points.
However, the super majority of 80 out of 120 MPs is still likely to be out of reach for them. This number of people’s representatives must be present in parliament so that it can elect a successor to the former President Vjosa Osmani. Her mandate expired on April 4th.
The need for consensus is enshrined in the constitution
The quorum required by the constitution forces the government camp to reach a certain consensus with the opposition. After Osmani left office, this was not achieved, which is why parliament had to be dissolved and new elections called.
The presidential election remains the responsibility of the new parliament. If no agreement is reached on the person of the country’s highest official, Kosovo could end up in a cycle of repeated parliamentary elections.
The youngest state in Europe declared its independence in 2008. Serbia, to which Kosovo once belonged, does not recognize this and continues to claim the territory. (sda/dpa)