Albin Kurti is celebrating what he calls a “historic achievement” for Albanians in Serbia in the parliamentary elections. Kosovo’s prime minister played an important role in bringing Albanian parties together on a single electoral list, helping them secure two seats in Serbia’s Parliament. In terms of the number of MPs, however, this was not the best result ever for Albanians. In the 2020 elections, they won three seats.
The Albanian Coalition won two seats in Serbia’s Parliament in the elections held on Sunday. In terms of parliamentary representation, this was the second-best result in the political history of Albanians in Serbia since 2000.
For years, eight parties from Presheva, Medvegja and Bujanoc remained divided. This time, they united on a single electoral list, aiming to send as many Albanian representatives as possible to Serbia’s Parliament.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti played an important role in bringing the Albanian parties in the Preševo Valley together on one list.
The Party for Democratic Action, the Alternative for Change, the Democratic Party, the Albanian Democratic Party, the Movement for Democratic Progress, the Movement for Reforms, the Alternative for the Valley and the Democratic Union of Albanians contested the elections together, achieving a result Kurti has described as a “historic achievement.”
Speaking at a meeting of Kosovo’s government today, Kurti said they would remain open to providing “assistance and whatever may be needed by the Albanians there.”
Yesterday, Kurti hosted representatives of the Albanian Coalition at the Kosovo Government building. He said that “unity brought the best result for Albanians in Serbia since 2000,” highlighting the number of votes they received, which exceeded their total in the 2020 elections, when Albanians won three seats—their highest number ever.
Shaip Kamberi, leader of the Party for Democratic Action, was the only representative of the Albanian community in the previous Serbian Parliament. He will now be joined by Visar Memeti, leader of the Alternative for Change, who has also secured a seat.
During yesterday’s meeting with Kurti, Memeti emphasised the Kosovo prime minister’s role in uniting the Albanian parties in Serbia.
“On my behalf and on behalf of the entire Albanian Coalition, we thank you immensely, because we know that until September 29 and before our meeting, many people were sceptical about uniting the political parties. Thanks to your extraordinary commitment, this happened, and we can all see the result,” he said.
When an agreement was reached, with Kurti’s involvement, for the parties to contest the elections together, Memeti had said their goal was to win three seats, matching the number they secured in 2020.
“In 2020, we had three MPs. Then we split, and the result was one MP. Our goal now is to win three MPs again; that way, our strength in Serbia’s Parliament will be much greater,” he said at the time.
Who united the Albanians in 2020, when they won three seats?
As Serbia’s parliamentary elections approached in the spring of 2020, Gent Cakaj, Albania’s minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs at the time, had brokered an agreement during the winter between Albanian political parties in Serbia to contest the elections on a joint list.
Four Albanian political entities in the Presheva Valley the Party for Democratic Action, the Alternative for Change, the Movement for Democratic Progress, and the Movement for Reforms of the Albanian Democratic Party reached an agreement in Tirana through Cakaj’s mediation.
Photo: Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
“It was an honour to facilitate the agreement between the political leaders of the Presheva Valley. Today, they decided to create a unified electoral list, thereby enabling their voters to have a stronger voice and to vote in the upcoming elections,” Albania’s then-minister wrote in a post on X on January 16, 2020.
At the time, the goal was to secure four seats in Serbia’s Parliament. The parties achieved a historic victory by winning three seats.
Kurti counts the votes
Kosovo’s prime minister has highlighted the number of votes received by the united Albanian representatives in the latest elections. In this respect, their result was 1,233 votes higher than in the 2020 elections.
“These elections brought several historic achievements. The Albanian Coalition received 27,670 votes! This is the highest result for Albanians since 2000—1,233 votes more than in 2020, when three seats were won.
“With the 35% increase in electoral coefficients for national minorities, this result is mathematically equivalent to 37,354 votes. Albanians are the fourth-largest minority in Serbia by population, but they ranked second in votes and first in seats, alongside the Hungarians, among national minority lists,” Kurti said at today’s meeting of Kosovo’s government.
The poorest result for Albanians in Serbia’s parliamentary elections was recorded in 2020, when the two Albanian electoral lists in southern Serbia failed to cross the threshold required to send a representative to Serbia’s Parliament.
At the time, the United Albanian Coalition, led by Shaip Kamberi, received 9,630 votes, or 0.26%. The Albanian Democratic Alternative list, led by Shqiprim Arifi, received three times fewer votes, with a total of 3,250, or 0.09%.
