Citizens of Kosovo are voting today for the second time this year to elect a new composition of the Assembly of Kosovo, following a prolonged institutional deadlock.
The elections are being held after the failure to form a government from the previous legislature, which emerged from the February elections. The lack of a parliamentary majority and the inability to form governing coalitions led to the dissolution of the Assembly and the calling of early elections.
Voting Process and Turnout
Polling stations opened at 07:00 and will remain open until 19:00, during which eligible voters can cast their ballots.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), a total of 1,999,024 citizens are registered to vote. The electoral process is being conducted in 910 voting centers across the country, comprising 2,557 polling stations.
In addition to regular voting, conditional voting is available, with one conditional voting center in each municipality, totaling 57 conditional polling stations nationwide.
Election Preparations Completed
The CEC confirmed that all preparations for the smooth conduct of the elections were completed on time. CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi stated that ballots and election materials were distributed on Saturday from the central warehouse to municipal counting centers and then delivered to polling stations early Sunday morning.
“The election material, including ballots, was distributed from the CEC’s central warehouse to municipal counting centers and then delivered to more than 900 polling stations, which opened at 07:00,” Elezi said.
Vote Counting and Results
The counting of votes for political parties will begin immediately after polling stations close and will take place at polling stations. Meanwhile, votes for candidates for Members of Parliament will be counted at municipal counting centers, a process expected to begin on Monday.
The CEC announced that preliminary results will start being published before 20:00 on the official results platform.
Security and Monitoring
The electoral process is being closely monitored by the Kosovo Police and the Office of the State Prosecutor, which has deployed approximately 100 prosecutors and prosecutorial staff nationwide.
In addition, the elections are being observed by domestic and international observers, including the Council of Europe, which has accredited 23 election observers.
Background: February Election Results
In the February elections, Vetëvendosje (LVV) ranked first with 42.3%, followed by PDK with 20.95%, LDK with 18.27%, and the AAK–Nisma coalition with 7.06%. Despite these results, a governing majority could not be formed, leading to today’s vote.
