Berlyn Kate Schelling

 

In Kosovo’s second parliamentary election of 2025, the sitting Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his leftist party Vetevendosje (LVV) secured around 50% of the vote. However, this still leaves Kurti without an absolute majority in parliament, an issue that created political deadlock for most of the year as LVV failed to form a coalition. This deadlock is what compelled President Vjosa Osmani to dissolve parliament in early November and hold snap elections in December, an event which marked a first in Kosovo’s history since its 2008 independence (1). Operating without a functioning parliament for much of 2025, it is essential that Kurti’s party builds a working coalition by the start of 2026. Additionally, with a presidential election in the spring and financial deadlines approaching, it is paramount that this small Balkan country has a well-functioning government.

This election was particularly significant for Kosovo as the country is in a poor financial position that was worsened by the months-long political deadlock which delayed 1 billion Euros in funding (2). The country relies on external loans from the European Union, but was sanctioned by the organization over Kurti allegedly increasing tensions with the Serbian minority in the north of the country. This resulted in the restriction of around 880 million Euros in EU funds set aside for the country, along with another 127 million in World Bank funding. This funding is essential for Kosovo, as part of these funds are specifically allocated for the state’s struggling educational and medical systems. Though EU funding was restarted after the election of several Serbian mayors in Northern Kosovo, a large portion of the World Bank funding must be ratified by parliament of Kosovo before the February 13th, 2026 deadline. Without a functioning coalition to achieve this ratification, 90 million Euros of funding would be cancelled (3).

It is unclear yet whether Kurti’s party will be able to accomplish a cohesive coalition as he remains a controversial figure. The Prime Minister isolated Kosovo’s partners in the EU and the US over his alleged targeting of the Serbian minority earlier in 2025, though these relations are slowly being repaired (4). These events stirred further criticism from opposition parties who have labeled Kurti as authoritarian, with one political analyst stating that the Vetevendosje party has contributed to, “countless violations of the constitution, the lack of economic development, and the breakdown of relations with allies.” However, it is possible that LVV may find coalition partners in the Democratic League of Kosovo party (LDK) which achieved third place during the snap elections. Kurti may also find support from some of the members of parliament who hold the seats allocated for ethnic minorities (5). Along with financial concerns and controversy, Kosovo’s political future as a potential EU member state made this a significant election.

As Kosovo is one of the multiple Balkan states which wants to join the EU, Kurti must first improve relations with its Serbian neighbor (6). Kosovar-Serbian relations have been colored by a violent past from the 1998-1999 war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian separatists. Though Kosovo declared independence in 2008, Serbia continually refuses to recognize its sovereignty (7). This has led to complicated relations between the two countries for years, and it is unlikely that Kurti will be the one to improve the relationship with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. In 2023, tensions were reignited when the Serbian minority boycotted municipal elections leading to the win of ethnic Albanian mayors in a region where just 3% of voters represent this ethnic group. At Kurti’s insistence and with police protection, these mayors took office causing a violent dispute that killed four people and injured multiple NATO soldiers (8) Though Northern Kosovo has since stabilized, this most recent dispute has put yet another road block on the path to normalized relations between the two countries. Stable relations between Kosovo and Serbia are currently a requirement for future EU accession, a goal which the Council of the European Union has been working towards since 2011 through facilitated dialogue in pursuit of a “legally-binding normalization agreement” (9). Currently, it appears that Albin Kurti is dedicated to EU integration and achieving candidate status. To achieve this goal, both Kurti and Vučić will need to move past their usually dogmatic bilateral relations and commit to a productive dialogue.

Despite an inability to bridge political differences and form a functioning coalition, Kurti’s decisive win in the 2025 snap elections shows the commitment of voters to the Vetevendosje platform. It remains to be seen how Kurti will form a coalition, but several factors may work in his favor this time around. First, LVV achieved a higher percentage of the vote during the snap elections, winning around 50% percent compared to the February 2025 elections where they only won around 41% (10). This means they will need a fewer number of members from opposition parties to form a coalition. Second, it is possible that other members of parliament will not want to repeat the long political deadlock of the last year and will be eager to ratify vital World Bank funds. However, Albin Kurti still remains a controversial figure that may continually struggle to pull in representatives from opposition parties. Though, for Kosovo’s political stability and achievement of a positive economic future, it is essential that the country obtains a functioning parliament in the coming month.

 

References:

1 Euronews, “PM Kurti’s Ruling Party Wins Kosovo Snap Election with 50% of Votes,” Euronews (euronews.com,
December 29, 2025),
https://www.euronews.com/2025/12/29/pm-kurtis-ruling-party-wins-kosovo-snap-election-with-50-of-votes.

2 Fatos Bytyci, “Kosovo’s ‘Political Earthquake’ Election Sees Kurti Resurgent,” msn.com (Reuters, December 29,
2025),
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kosovos-political-earthquake-election-sees-kurti-resurgent/ar-AA1TdU78?
ocid=BingNewsSerp.

3 Fatos Bytyci and Edward Mcallister, “Kosovo Heads to Polls as Political Deadlock Threatens Vital Funds,”
Reuters, December 22, 2025,
https://www.reuters.com/world/kosovo-heads-polls-political-deadlock-threatens-vital-funds-2025-12-22/.
of Kosovo.

4 Zana Cimili, “Prime Minister Kurti’s Party Wins Kosovo Snap Vote,” AP News, December 28, 2025,
https://apnews.com/article/kosovo-election-parliamentary-snap-fefaef8fc72b11cf930866d40ec30689.

5 Guy Delauney, “Kosovo’s Ruling Party Wins Election after Months of Political Deadlock,” BBC, December 29,
2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3z3w4wy0go.

6 Zana Cimili, “Kurti’s Party Wins Kosovo Snap Vote.”

7 Florent Bajrami and Llazar Semini, “Kosovo Calls for International Pressure on Serbia over Deadly 2023
Gunfight,” AP News (Associated Press, September 24, 2025),
https://apnews.com/article/kosovo-serbia-banjska-terror-gunfight-tense-ties-b8cc1dd857bb7a27f2f30f39aed96ec9.

8 Matthew Karnitschnig and Una Hajdari, “War of Words between Serbia and Kosovo Intensifies as EU Talks Stall,”
politico.eu (POLITICO, September 19, 2024),
https://www.politico.eu/article/serbia-president-aleksandar-vucic-kosovo-prime-minister-albin-kurti-eu-talks/.

9 Strategic Communications Editorial Team, “Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue,” www.eeas.europa.eu (The Diplomatic
Service of the European Union, March 5, 2025), https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/belgrade-pristina-dialogue_en.

10 RFE/RL’s Kosovo Service, “Kurti Falls Short of Majority Setting up Potential Political Deadlock in Kosovo,”
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty (RFE/RL, February 10, 2025),
https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-serb-kurti-elections-parliament-balkan/33308792.html.

Bibliography:

Bajrami, Florent, and Llazar Semini. “Kosovo Calls for International Pressure on Serbia over Deadly 2023 Gunfight.” AP News. Associated Press, September 24, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/kosovo-serbia-banjska-terror-gunfight-tense-ties-b8cc1dd857bb7a27f2f30f39aed96ec9.
Bytyci, Fatos. “Kosovo’s ‘Political Earthquake’ Election Sees Kurti Resurgent.” msn.com. Reuters, December 29, 2025. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kosovos-political-earthquake-election-sees-kurti-resurgent/ar-AA1TdU78?ocid=BingNewsSerp.
Bytyci, Fatos, and Edward Mcallister. “Kosovo Heads to Polls as Political Deadlock Threatens Vital Funds.” Reuters, December 22, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/kosovo-heads-polls-political-deadlock-threatens-vital-funds-2025-12-22/.
Cimili, Zana. “Prime Minister Kurti’s Party Wins Kosovo Snap Vote.” AP News, December 28, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/kosovo-election-parliamentary-snap-fefaef8fc72b11cf930866d40ec30689.
Delauney, Guy. “Kosovo’s Ruling Party Wins Election after Months of Political Deadlock.” BBC, December 29, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3z3w4wy0go.
Euronews. “PM Kurti’s Ruling Party Wins Kosovo Snap Election with 50% of Votes.” Euronews. euronews.com, December 29, 2025. https://www.euronews.com/2025/12/29/pm-kurtis-ruling-party-wins-kosovo-snap-election-with-50-of-votes.
Karnitschnig, Matthew, and Una Hajdari. “War of Words between Serbia and Kosovo Intensifies as EU Talks Stall.” politico.eu. POLITICO, September 19, 2024. https://www.politico.eu/article/serbia-president-aleksandar-vucic-kosovo-prime-minister-albin-kurti-eu-talks/.
RFE/RL’s Kosovo Service. “Kurti Falls Short of Majority Setting up Potential Political Deadlock in Kosovo.” RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. RFE/RL, February 10, 2025. https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-serb-kurti-elections-parliament-balkan/33308792.html.
Strategic Communications Editorial Team. “Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.” www.eeas.europa.eu. The Diplomatic Service of the European Union, March 5, 2025. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/belgrade-pristina-dialogue_en.