Kosovo’s Kurti wins snap election, signalling end of impasse

Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti won a clear victory in Kosovo’s second parliamentary election in 2025 with some 49.3% of the vote, results suggested on early Monday, with most of the votes counted.

His left-wing Self-Determination party fell just short of an absolute majority. But it remains to be seen whether he will need a coalition in order to form a government.

“After fair, democratic and free elections, we are even more victorious today than we were at the beginning of February,” Kurti said in a short speech broadcast on television.

“Once the results will be ⁠certified we should swiftly constitute the parliament and then form immediately a new government,” he added, calling on the opposition to support his international loan deals, which would need a two-thirds majority to pass.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo came second with (PDK) 21% of the vote, followed by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 13.6% and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) with 5.7%, as per results after 99% of the votes were counted.

Kosovo has been mired in political paralysis for most of the year, after Kurti’s leftist party lost the absolute majority it had won in 2021 and failed to secure the support of any other party to form a government.

Months of unsuccessful coalition talks led to President Vjosa Osmani dissolving the parliament in November and calling an early election.

Since then, Kosovo’s legislature has been unable to agree on its leadership, leaving the body effectively paralyzed and unable to function.