Tirana Times PRISTINA, Kosovo December 29, 2025. Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti secured another clear electoral victory in Kosovo’s repeat parliamentary election on Sunday, with his left wing Vetëvendosje movement significantly expanding its lead over rivals but once again failing to secure the parliamentary majority needed to govern alone, according to near final results.
With more than 98 percent of ballots counted from the Dec. 28 snap vote, Vetëvendosje captured just under half of the popular vote, about 49.5 percent or roughly 429,000 ballots. This marks a notable increase from the February election earlier this year and is projected to translate into around 49 seats in the 120 member Assembly, leaving Kurti short of the 61 seats required to form a government independently.
The result confirms Vetëvendosje’s dominant position in Kosovo’s political landscape, while also reinforcing a pattern that has defined the past year: strong electoral mandates without parliamentary closure. A similar outcome in the Feb. 9 election left the country without a stable government for nearly a year, prompting President Vjosa Osmani to dissolve parliament in November and call early elections in an effort to break the deadlock.
Coalition building now returns to center stage. Kosovo’s constitution reserves 20 parliamentary seats for non majority communities, including 10 for the Serb community, largely represented by the Serb List. Kurti is expected to seek support from minority parties to reach a working majority, but the arithmetic remains delicate, particularly amid strained relations between his government and Serb representatives over policies in the Serb majority north.
Opposition parties suffered further setbacks, most notably the Democratic League of Kosovo. The LDK finished third with about 13.7 percent of the vote, losing more than 53,000 votes compared with the February election, the sharpest decline among the main parties. Party leader Lumir Abdixhiku acknowledged responsibility for the poor result, calling it a moment of reflection and signaling he could step aside.
The Democratic Party of Kosovo placed second with roughly 21 percent, maintaining a similar share despite a slight drop in raw votes, while the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo trailed with about 5.7 percent, continuing a downward trend. Comparative data between the two elections show that Vetëvendosje gained more than 32,000 additional votes, while all major opposition parties lost ground, pointing to a consolidation of support around Kurti even as political stalemate persists.
Kurti quickly declared victory, describing the outcome as the strongest mandate in Kosovo’s democratic history, and called for swift certification of results to allow new institutions to be formed. He also appealed for parliamentary cooperation on international agreements, citing the European Union’s 880 million euro Growth Plan for Kosovo and additional World Bank financing.
Coalition talks, however, are expected to be complex. Opposition leaders accuse Kurti of alienating Western partners and exacerbating tensions in the north, while Kurti has blamed rival parties for obstructing institutions and reforms. The election outcome will be closely watched in Brussels and Washington, particularly after the European Union imposed punitive measures on Kosovo earlier this year over tensions with the Serb community and signaled it would reassess them after the vote. Relations with the United States have also cooled.
For now, voters have once again delivered a clear winner, but not a clear path to government, leaving Kosovo facing continued uncertainty as negotiations begin.
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