Kosovo’s main left-wing opposition party won a clear victory in a snap election held amid the coronavirus pandemic, an economic recession, and stalled negotiations with Serbia.
With 98% of the votes counted on Monday, the Determination Movement Party had 48% support. That put him well ahead of the center-right Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) which won 17% and the ruling conservative Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which won 13% of the vote.
People turned out to vote Sunday despite snowfall. The turnout was 47%, 2.5% more than in the 2019 elections, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
The leader of the Determination Movement, Albin Kurti, who is expected to become the next prime minister, faces the challenges of reviving the poor nation’s economy and reducing unemployment, as well as fighting the pandemic, organized crime and corruption. .
“We won this referendum for justice and employment, against state capture and corruption,” Kurti said Sunday night. “Our priority is justice and employment.”
However, victory may not give Kurti the necessary 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament.
Negotiations on the normalization of ties with Serbia are not high on the winning party’s agenda.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and the Enlargement commissioner, Oliver Varhelyi, urged Kosovo to soon form the new Parliament, the government and elect the president and promote reforms, promising the support of Brussels.
Kosovo – seeking to join the EU – gained independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after the 1998-1999 war between Albanian separatists and Serbian forces. The war ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign drove out Serbian troops.
Within two months of taking their seats, Kosovo legislators must elect the country’s president. If no candidate is chosen after three rounds of voting, there could be another early parliamentary election.
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