Overview
- Voters cast ballots on December 28 in the year's second parliamentary election after months of failed coalition talks and the November dissolution of parliament.
- Caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje is widely viewed as the frontrunner, yet major opposition parties LDK, PDK and AAK say they will not join a Kurti-led coalition.
- Lawmakers face urgent decisions including ratifying roughly €1 billion in EU and World Bank agreements and electing a new president in the spring, with next year’s budget still not approved.
- EU measures imposed after 2023 tensions are being lifted following recent developments in the north, but access to broader funding and the Growth Plan depends on forming a functional government.
- Serb List, backed by Belgrade, is poised to control the 10 reserved Serb seats and could influence parliamentary arithmetic; no public polling is allowed, and voting runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with exit polls expected afterward.