Kosovo votes in snap election to end a year of political deadlock

As nationalist Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s party seeks a majority to end a year-long political impasse, Kosovo is casting its ballots to elect a new parliament for the second time in 11 months.

Polls opened at 7am local time (06:00 GMT), and they will close at 7pm on Sunday (18:00 GMT), with exit polls anticipated soon after the voting ends.

After winning the most votes on a February 9 ballot, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Self-Determination Movement (LVV) party failed to form a government.

The crisis would become even more acute if there was no new government or opportunity to reopen parliament. In the upcoming months, legislators must approve the signing of 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in loan agreements with the European Union and World Bank, which will expire in April.

The opposition parties in Kosovo’s ethnically divided north, where a Serb minority lives, have criticized Kurti’s handling of ties with Western allies and his approach to Kosovo’s ethnically divided north.

The 1. 6 million-strong nation has struggled with poverty, instability, and organized crime despite international support. The first time a Pristina government has served a full term was during Kurti’s 2021-year tenure.

Kurti has pledged to increase public sector employees’ pay by one million euros annually, as well as a new prosecution unit to combat organized crime, to win over voters. Opposition parties have also pledged to concentrate on raising living standards.

The outcome is uncertain because no opinion polls are conducted in Kosovo. Many voters claim to be disillusioned.

“Kurti wins, and the opposition wins, there wouldn’t be much joy.” Doctor Edi Krasiqi, who is a doctor, told Reuters news agency that “this country needs drastic changes, and I don’t see that change coming.”

Serbian tensions

Kosovo, which was formerly a province of Serbia and is almost exclusively Albanian, formally seceded in 2008 after an uprising and NATO intervention in 1999.

More than 100 nations have recognized it, but none, including Spain, Serbia, Greece, or Russia. It is perceived as a potential EU member.

Serbian tensions flared in 2023, prompting the EU to impose sanctions on Kosovo.

After ethnic Serb mayors were elected in northern municipalities, the bloc announced this month that it would remove them, but the measures are likely to have cost Kosovo hundreds of millions of euros.