Political representatives of non-Serb minority communities in Kosovo, who, according to the preliminary results of the Central Election Commission (CEC), have entered the Kosovo Assembly, will support – in principle – any candidate for the formation of the new government, whether it comes from the current ruling party, Vetëvendosje, or from the opposition parties.
Based on 99 percent of the counted votes, the Vetëvendosje Movement, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, received the most votes in the February 9 parliamentary elections, securing 47 out of 120 parliamentary seats, though not enough to form a government on its own.
According to preliminary results, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is expected to have 25 deputies, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) 20, and the coalition gathered around the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) 8.
These figures may change after counting the conditional votes and those from the diaspora.
After declaring victory in Sunday’s elections, Kurti stated that Vetëvendosje would independently form the government, meaning that the votes of the minority communities could be decisive in its formation.
It is likely that the so-called “minority government” could be formed even if the candidate for prime minister were from the current opposition parties, as 61 votes are needed to elect a government.
According to Kosovo’s Constitution, out of the 120 seats in the Kosovo Assembly, 20 are reserved for non-majority communities – ten for the Serbian community and ten for other communities living in Kosovo.
Thus, the Bosniak community has three seats, the Turkish community two, the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian (RAE) communities each have one, one additional seat is allocated to the community within RAE that wins the most votes, and one seat is reserved for the Gorani community.
Which minorities have entered the Kosovo Assembly?
Based on the preliminary election results, the Serbian List – the largest Serbian party in Kosovo, supported by Belgrade – won nine parliamentary seats, while one seat was won by the Party for Freedom, Justice, and Survival, led by Nenad Rašić, a minister in Albin Kurti’s government.
As for the ten guaranteed seats for other non-majority communities, the Democratic Party of the Turks in Kosovo won two seats in the Kosovo Assembly, while from the Bosniak community, the New Democratic Party, the Vakat Coalition, and the Social Democratic Union each won one seat.
The New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo, representing the Egyptian community, won one seat. This community received the most votes from the RAE, so the Liberal Party of Egyptians won an additional parliamentary mandate.
Also, the Integration Ashkali Party won one seat, the United Roma Party of Kosovo won one, and the United Goran Party won one.
Who will the minorities vote for?
Duda Balje from the Bosniak Social Democratic League of Kosovo says she enters the Kosovo Assembly to protect the interests of the Bosniak community and that her vote of support will go to the candidate for prime minister who meets the community’s conditions.
One of the main conditions, according to Balje, is the formation of the Zupa municipality with a Bosniak majority.
According to the 2024 population registration, the Bosniak community in Kosovo is the second largest and makes up about 1.69 percent of the total population.
To support the new Government of Kosovo, Balje says she needs guarantees from the designated prime minister that more investments will be made in areas where Bosniaks live and that there will be a reform of the education system to provide instruction in the Bosnian language.
“We are here for our community, we are a minority. My job and my moral obligation are to support my community. For me, it is important that only the demands of Bosniaks are placed on the table and discussed. Any prime ministerial candidate who comes will be given the conditions,” says Balje to REL.
Rasim Demiri from the Vakat Coalition says it is still too early to decide which prime ministerial candidate to support and under what conditions, but adds that such a decision will be carefully considered.
Albert Kinolli from the United Roma Party of Kosovo says that his party will provide unconditional support for the new Government of Kosovo, regardless of which party the prime ministerial candidate comes from.
When Kurti won the elections for the first time in 2019, he formed the government with the support of the Democratic League of Kosovo. However, this government fell less than two months after its formation, due to disagreements over handling the coronavirus pandemic.
The current opposition parties in Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, have rejected the possibility of forming a coalition with Vetëvendosje.
This stance was also expressed by the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, during the election campaign.
Ramush Haradinaj from AAK also proposed forming a government by the opposition, but this was not commented on by PDK or LDK.
