Kurti wins Kosovo election but loses absolute majority, coalition talks and presidential deadlock loom

Election outcome

Albin Kurti's left-wing nationalist Vetëvendosje (LVV) party won Kosovo's third parliamentary election in 16 months, taking 42.92% of the vote with 95% of ballots counted, according to the Central Election Commission. The result marks a drop of nearly 6.5 percentage points from the 51% the party won in the December 2025 snap election. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) finished second with 21.06%, up 0.07%, while the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) placed third with 17.61%, a gain of roughly 4 percentage points and the largest increase among opposition parties. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) received 7.18%, comfortably above the threshold. Based on preliminary results, LVV will hold 48 of the Assembly's 120 seats, PDK 24, LDK 20, and AAK 8. The Srpska Lista, competing for the ten seats reserved for the Serb minority, received 6.17%.

Turnout and voter mood

Turnout fell to under 37%, down from 45% in December, with the electorate described in multiple reports as exhausted by repeated elections. Over 900 candidates from 17 parties and three coalitions competed for seats, with more than 2 million citizens eligible to vote.

Enough is enough. I expect parties to finally come to their senses and work for Kosovo, instead of wasting time fighting for power through one snap election after another.

Path to the snap vote

The election was triggered after the deeply divided parliament failed to elect a successor to President Vjosa Osmani, whose mandate expired in April. An opposition boycott of the presidential vote sank the process, leading to the assembly's dissolution. This was the third parliamentary election in under 18 months: the first, in February 2025, produced no government; the second, in December 2025, gave LVV 51% and allowed Kurti to form a cabinet with ethnic minority MPs, but the presidential deadlock persisted.

Coalition and presidential negotiations

Kurti celebrated the result with fireworks and drummers in Pristina's Skënderbeu Square, calling it his party's fourth consecutive victory since 2021.

This is the confirmation that at least this decade, and I believe longer, will be the decade of Vetëvendosje's government.

He pledged to work with other parties to resolve the presidential election. Osmani, who ran on the LDK list, said LVV now has no reason to reject her candidacy for a second term. The inaugural session of the new parliament is expected by late July, with a government possible in August or September. Under legal timelines, a presidential election would not take place before October. If parties cannot reach consensus on a presidential candidate, the political impasse could extend into 2027, potentially triggering yet another snap parliamentary election.

International reaction

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos congratulated Kurti on the victory and the peaceful, orderly conduct of the vote.

In order for Kosovo to make progress on its path to the EU, political forces must now unite and find compromises to build institutional stability.

The EU has repeatedly urged Kosovo's politicians to create stable institutions so that membership-related reforms can proceed. Nearly a year of political gridlock has delayed those reforms and blocked the flow of EU funds.