Kosovo’s parliamentary elections have begun this Sunday morning after a combative electoral campaign in which opposition candidates have faced the prime minister, Albin Kurti, for the economy, corruption and, former enemy and neighbor of the country .
Kosovo celebrates his fifth general elections since he unilaterally declared his independence from Serbia, in 2008, with the support of the United States after a 78 -day NATO bombardment campaign against Serbian forces in 1999. The self -proclaimed Kosovar state
With almost two million registered voters, the vote began at seven in the morning and has finished at seven in the afternoon. The day has elapsed normally in much of the country, with just a few incidents, the Central Electoral Commission (KQZ) has reported. Among them, five people – four women and a man – have been arrested in two different cases, for trying to influence citizens when voting.
This Sunday is an important appointment for the current prime minister, Albin Kurti, who could reach half of the votes in these elections, according to the surveys. , he came to power in 2021, when a coalition led by his party vetevendosje (self -determination) obtained more than 50% of the votes and secured a majority of seven seats in the Parliament, 120 members. According to an urn survey by Klan Kosova TV, Kurti is on his way to obtaining first place, with 38.2% of the votes.
According to political analysts, their popularity has been reinforced by the measures taken to expand government control in northern Kosovo, a Serbia majority, but its detractors claim that it has not fulfilled in education and health, and that its policies have distanced Kosovo of its traditional allies, the European Union and the United States.
After depositing his vote in Pristina, the prime minister has urged citizens to go to the polls, in a country where abstention usually exceeds 50%. “I call all the citizens of Kosovo to take advantage of this opportunity and decide on the next four years,” Kurt said to the press. According to the Electoral Commission, the participation of voters until 11.00 local hours was 8.6%, a little more than at the same time as the 2021 elections, when it was 8.3%.
The president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has also called for citizens. “Kosovo is the most developed democracy of our region, we must maintain it that way and we must develop it even more, and today it is a decisive day for all the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo to contribute in this direction,” he encouraged.
A total of 28 political parties and coalitions are competing for the 120 seats in the Kosovo Assembly. Of these, 100 seats are being disputed through proportional representation with open list, while 20 are reserved for ethnic minorities, including 10 for the Serbian, minority community, with which the Albanian majority usually collides due to the derived tensions of independence.
In fact, in 2023 for its role in fanning tensions with ethnic serbs, cutting at least 150 million euros in financing, according to sources consulted by the Reuters agency.
“Kosovo needs a change”
The elections, which are held under strict international security and scrutiny measures, take place amid tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, in addition to important economic and social challenges for the small Balkan country. “Kosovo needs a change. He needs development and, above all, fixing and cultivating relations with the United States and other Western friends, ”said Ilir Fetahu, a 50 -year -old voter from the capital, Pristina.
Among the opposition parties are the Democratic League of Kosovo, of Centrodécha, which has campaigned for the restoration of relations with the United States and the EU, and adhesion to NATO; and the Democratic Party of Kosovo, also of center -right, founded by former guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
“I am optimistic. It has been a long campaign, ”said Bedri Hamza, candidate for prime minister for the Democratic Party of Kosovo. A fall below 50% of the votes for Kurti’s party could lead to conversations about a coalition after the elections.
Kurti states that his policies in the north, which include the reduction of the autonomy of the Serbs that live in Kosovo, are helping to unite Serbian and Albanian ethnic groups under the same system of government. But his rhetoric worries centrist politicians. “When you have a bad neighbor, you have to keep the morale high and the rifle full,” Kurti said in a campaign speech near the Serbian border this week.
The Kurti government has made some progress. Unemployment has been reduced from 30% to about 10%, the minimum wage has risen and last year the economy grew above the average of Western Balkans. “It has never been better than now. I hope there are more days good, ”said Kumrije Prekaj, 44, who has voted in Pristina.
The electoral campaign, however, has been found. The electoral claims and appeals panel, which supervises the complaints of parties and candidates, has imposed more than 650,000 euros in fines on matches this electoral season, the triple that in 2021, according to data from the NGO democracy in action.
