Preliminary results: Albin Kurti's party convincingly won snap elections in Kosovo

(Patria) - Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti appears poised for another term after his party convincingly won snap parliamentary elections in the Balkan country on Sunday, preliminary results showed, AP reported late last night.

The Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party won nearly 50% of the vote, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21% and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, in the national elections, authorities said after counting almost all ballots.

"Congratulations on the biggest victory in the country's history," said a jubilant Kurti after the results were announced. "We have a lot of work ahead of us now."

Snap elections were called after Self-Determination failed to form a government despite winning the most votes in the February 9 elections, leading to a months-long political deadlock.

It was not immediately clear if Kurti's party had won the 61 seats in the 120-member parliament needed to govern alone. Kurti said a new parliament and government would be formed as soon as possible.

"We have no time to lose and we must move forward together as quickly as possible," he said.

Hundreds of ruling party supporters gathered outside party offices in Pristina to celebrate, chanting Kurti's name.

The previous post-election stalemate marked the first time Kosovo had failed to form a government since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008.

Kosovo has not approved a budget for the coming year, raising concerns about the already struggling economy in the country of two million people. Lawmakers are also due to elect a new president in March, as the term of current President Vjosa Osmani expires in early April.

After Sunday's vote, Kurti urged Kosovo's 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to give "greater legitimacy to our institutions".
Turnout was around 44%, according to the state election authorities.
Under Kosovo's election laws, twenty parliamentary seats are automatically allocated to representatives of ethnic Serbs and other minority parties.

Opposition parties accuse Kurti of authoritarianism and alienating Kosovo's allies in the United States and the European Union since he came to power in 2021. Kurti also briefly served as prime minister in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lumir Abdixhiku of the Democratic League of Kosovo earlier on Sunday called on voters to "move away from the gloom, deadlock and divisions that have plagued us in recent years".

A former political prisoner during Serbia's rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a hard line in EU-mediated talks on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the European Union and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has pledged to buy military equipment to improve security.
Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north flared into clashes in 2023, injuring numerous NATO-led peacekeepers. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors peacefully took office this month following municipal elections.

Kurti agreed to accept migrants from third countries deported from the US as part of then-President Donald Trump's measures. Authorities have so far told AP that one migrant has arrived.

Kosovo is one of Europe's poorest countries and one of six in the Western Balkans seeking to join the European Union. Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must normalize relations first.