Participation from the Kosovar diaspora is showing significant momentum ahead of the June 7 general elections. In just the first six days of the registration period, over 50,000 citizens living abroad have applied to cast their ballots, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi provided a breakdown of the figures on Monday, noting that the vast majority of applications are currently being processed or have already been approved.
Registration by the Numbers
As of May 11, the CEC has handled the following application statuses:
- Approved: 36,000+
- Rejected: 3,868
- Under Review: 9,200+
Of these applicants, approximately 27,000 have opted for mail-in voting, while nearly 9,000 intend to vote physically at various diplomatic missions.
Global Participation Trends
The highest concentration of applications continues to come from European countries with large Kosovar communities:
- Germany: 18,000 applications
- Switzerland: 8,000 applications
- France: 1,600 applications
- Other significant contributions: Austria, Sweden, and the United States.
While the current surge is impressive, it follows a trend of high diaspora engagement seen in recent election cycles, which saw 84,000 applications in December and 115,000 in February.
Expanded Physical Voting
For the upcoming June 7 elections, the CEC has significantly expanded the infrastructure for physical voting abroad.
- Locations: 48 diplomatic missions (33 embassies and 15 consulates).
- Polling Stations: 70 total stations.
- Capacity: A maximum of 66,000 voters can register for physical voting at these missions.
Note: Under new regulations, if a diplomatic mission registers fewer than 50 voters, physical voting will not be held at that location. In such cases, those voters will automatically be transitioned to the mail-in voting process, scheduled to take place between May 25 and June 6.
Final Deadlines for Political Entities
While the diaspora registers, the 27 certified political entities are facing a critical deadline of their own. All parties and coalitions have until midnight on Tuesday to submit their finalized lists of candidates for the Assembly.
As of Monday afternoon, no entity had yet submitted its list. Following the certification of these candidates, the CEC will hold the official lottery on May 16 to determine the ranking of political subjects on the ballot paper.
