Kosovo's Kurti wins third election in 18 months but needs coalition partners

Kosovo's acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has emerged victorious in the nation's parliamentary elections, marking his party Vetëvendosje's (VV) third win in less than 18 months. However, the party fell short of an absolute majority, compelling Kurti to engage in coalition talks with other political factions to form a government.

The elections were called in an effort to resolve Kosovo's prolonged political impasse, which has hindered its aspirations for European Union membership. Official results show Vetëvendosje securing 43 percent of the vote after 99.4 percent of ballots were counted. The Democratic Party of Kosovo followed with 21 percent, and the Democratic League of Kosovo garnered 18 percent.

Voter turnout was below 37 percent, a decrease from the 45 percent recorded in December's election. Despite approximately 100,000 votes still pending, it is widely expected that VV will not achieve a solo governing majority. Kurti has called for inter-party cooperation to address the country's governance challenges.

Kosovo, a small, mountainous nation with 1.8 million inhabitants, predominantly ethnic Albanians, has been striving for EU membership. This goal requires strong, functional institutions capable of implementing necessary reforms. However, political instability has hampered the effectiveness of these institutions and delayed progress on reforms. The country's relationship with Serbia remains tense, a legacy of the 1998-99 war and Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, which is not recognized by Serbia or Russia.