Kosovo votes in snap elections to try to end a year of political deadlock | Election news

The Balkan nation votes again as Prime Minister Albin Kurti seeks a majority to break the deadlock and form a government.

Kosovo votes to elect a new parliament for the second time in 11 months, as Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s nationalist party seeks a majority to end a year-long political deadlock.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT) and will close at 7:00 p.m. (18:00 GMT) on Sunday, with exit polls expected shortly after voting ends.

The early parliamentary vote was called after Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Movement for Self-Determination (LVV) party failed to form a government, despite winning the highest number of votes in an early parliamentary vote. February 9 election.

Failure to form a government and reopen Parliament would prolong the crisis at a critical time. Lawmakers are expected to elect a new president in April and ratify 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in loan deals from the European Union and the World Bank that expire in the coming months.

Opposition parties in the Balkan country have refused to govern under Kurti, criticizing his handling of relations with Western allies and his approach to the ethnically divided north of Kosovo, where a Serb minority lives.

Despite international support, this country of 1.6 million people struggles with poverty, instability and organized crime. Kurti’s term, which began in 2021, was the first time a Pristina government completed a full term.

To woo voters, Kurti promised an extra month’s salary a year for public sector workers, a billion euros a year in capital investments and a new prosecution unit to fight organized crime. ​Opposition parties also promised to focus on improving living standards.

Opinion polls are “not published in Kosovo, leaving the outcome uncertain. Many voters say they are disillusioned.

“There wouldn’t be much joy if Kurti won, nor if the opposition won. This country needs drastic changes, and I don’t see that change coming,” Edi Krasiqi, a doctor, told the Reuters news agency.

Tensions with Serbia

A former province of Serbia, Kosovo, whose population is almost exclusively Albanian, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following an uprising and NATO intervention in 1999.

It has been recognized by more than 100 countries, but not by Russia, Serbia, Greece or Spain. It is considered a potential candidate for EU membership.

Tensions with Serbia flared in 2023, prompting the EU to impose sanctions on Kosovo.

The bloc said this month it would “lift them after the election of ethnic Serb mayors in northern municipalities, but the measures would likely cost Kosovo hundreds of millions of euros.”

Kosovo remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. It is one of six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but Belgrade and Pristina have been told they must first normalize relations.