Overview
- Observers expect Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje to finish first again but likely short of an absolute majority, with initial results due Sunday evening.
- Polling runs from 7:00 to 19:00 local time in the second parliamentary vote within eleven months.
- The repeat ballot caps ten months without a coalition after Vetevendosje’s roughly 42% in February and more than 50 failed attempts to elect a parliamentary speaker.
- Kurti’s effort to curb Serbian influence has strong backing among many Kosovo Albanians, strained ties with Belgrade, and Serbia still refuses to recognize Kosovo.
- EU sanctions froze between half and one billion euros in aid with partial easing signaled for early next year, and failure to form a government soon could clash with a March presidential vote and prolong the crisis.