UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, January 6, 2026

New UNMIK chief Peter N. Due arrives in Kosovo (Express/Lajmi/Danas/Telegraf)
Vote count so far: VV to have 57 seats, PDK 22, LDK 15 and AAK 6 (Koha)
CEC could announce final election results sooner than January 19 (Telegrafi)
Opposition parties are silent over promised reforms after election losses (Koha)
Emini: VV hasn’t made it clear if it supports Osmani for President (KTV)
Gervalla: Serbia doesn’t have a foreign policy different than Moscow’s (media)
Key events in the Western Balkans in 2026 (Albanian Post)
Sources: Anti-Corruption Agency is verifying Vjosa Osmani’s wealth (media)
Djuric: Kurti’s regime has done nothing to change its attitude toward Serbs (Kosovo Online)
“Serbian Parliament, a toxic environment”; Kamberi: Vucic will lose power (media)
Serbia in 2026: Embattled president mulls high-stakes elections (BIRN)
BIRN flags data protection risks in Western Balkans and Turkey (PI)

New UNMIK chief Peter N. Due arrives in Kosovo (Express/Lajmi/Danas/Telegraf)

Several news websites reported on Monday that the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), in a post on X, announced the arrival of the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK, Peter N. Due. “A warm welcome to Peter N. Due, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK, who has arrived in Kosovo. Dedicated to advancing peace and security, in the service of the people of Kosovo,” the post notes.

Citing the UNMIK webpage, news websites report that Due has 30 years of wide-ranging experience in international peace and security. From 2019 to 2025 he served as the Director for Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. “Previously, he was the Director for Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations from 2015 to 2019. Mr. Due also served as Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office in Belgrade from 2013 to 2015, and he was a Political Affairs Officer with UNMIK in Pristina in 1999-2000. In New York, his positions have also included Chief of Office/Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, from 2009 to 2013, Team Leader for West Africa, from 2008 to 2009, and Team Leader for Europe and Latin America, in 2008. Early in his United Nations career, he served in Sierra Leone and in Liberia. In addition to his assignments with the United Nations, Mr. Due served with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Copenhagen and in Eritrea,” the media report.

Vote count so far: VV to have 57 seats, PDK 22, LDK 15 and AAK 6 (Koha)

The news website reported on Monday afternoon that after the votes of the diaspora in the December 28 parliamentary elections, the Kurti-led Vetevendosje Movement (VV) reached 50.67 percent of votes, by taking one assembly seat from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) which currently has 20.43 percent of votes. The VV will now have 57 seats in the new Kosovo Assembly, PDK will have 22, LDK 15 and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) six seats. The conditional votes and votes of people with special abilities are yet to be counted.

CEC could announce final election results sooner than January 19 (Telegrafi)

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday that vote counting activities are ending earlier than planned and that the final election results could be announced before January 19.

CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi said activities at the Municipal Counting Centers were planned to conclude by January 7 and that they have concluded on January 3. He said that the counting of votes from diplomatic offices and by-mail votes, planned to end on January 7, also concluded on January 3. He said that the counting of conditional votes and votes of people with special needs, planned to start on January 16, is expected to begin today.

Opposition parties are silent over promised reforms after election losses (Koha)

Leaders of opposition parties in Kosovo have yet to start delivering on their promise to implement reforms in their parties after their defeats in the December 28 parliamentary elections. A week after the elections, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which came out second, is keeping silent. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) too, as the news website learns, has made no move toward convening its presidency which would pave way to an election assembly.

PDK and LDK leaders, in their first public statements after the announcement of preliminary election results, had assumed responsibility and promised internal reforms. Meanwhile, according to political commentators, the political parties need to make a lot of changes and not only in their leaderships.

Emini: VV hasn’t made it clear if it supports Osmani for President (KTV)

Donika Emini, political commentator, said in a debate on KTV on Monday that it was expected that the Kurti-led Vetevendosje Movement (VV) would win the December 28 parliamentary elections but not with this result, and argued that even VV itself was not expecting such a high score. She said that it is positive that institutional stability is being restored after a lost year in 2025. “This will give Kosovo the chance to continue with reforms. This was a clear message by the electorate vis-à-vis the opposition,” she said.

Commenting on the election of the President, Emini said that another round of elections would not suit even VV because the diaspora turnout would not be the same. She said that the caretaker Prime Minister and VV leader Albin Kurti is in a favorable position because he now has a majority that he did not foresee. “The opposition meanwhile is in an unfavorable position and going to elections would not be in their interest,” she said.

According to Emini, the debate on the President should start now. “Today we saw a tendency to present [Vetevendosje’s deputy leader] Glauk Konjufca in public as a politician that won more votes than Vjosa Osmani, leaving room for doubts that he could be a candidate for President. The other parties too would have an opposing stance against him as they do against Osmani,” she argued.

Gervalla: Serbia doesn’t have a foreign policy different than Moscow’s (media)

Most news websites reported on Monday that Kosovo’s caretaker Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla reacted to a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who said that the world order is dead and that they will double the army. Gervalla said in a post on X: “History has taught us that to understand Russia’s intentions in our region, one should watch Serbia’s actions. Serbia doesn’t have a foreign policy different than Moscow's. Yesterday, Serbia’s president declared the world order dead and said they will double the army. The message is clearly both for Russia and from Russia. The fact is, no one is threatening Serbia. The real threat lies in its leadership, which, instead of building a normal European place focused on EU reforms and democracy, dreams of a regional empire - a Russian mindset in miniature. It wouldn’t be the first time Serbia sets fire to Europe”.

Key events in the Western Balkans in 2026 (Albanian Post)

The news website reported on Monday that 2026 will be a busy year in the Western Balkans with many events that will keep the region in focus – election process, in addition to integration process, will mark the political agenda of countries in the region, unless there is an unexpected security event which could change the pace of the Western Balkans, the news website reported on Monday.

In Kosovo, after the elections at the end of 2025, 2026 will test the new government. In March, Kosovo will also have to handle the difficult task of electing the President. In the event of a failure, the option of early parliamentary elections is not ruled out.

The process of EU membership remains the key development that will characterize Albania. In this context, 2026 can be a key year for Albania as it needs to prove that it has the capacity to advance toward full integration in the EU.

2026 may determine if Serbia will follow the path of democracy or if it will move toward authoritarianism. 2026 can also be an election year, with almost 500,000 citizens calling for early parliamentary elections.

Montenegro will host in Podgorica the summit of EU- Western Balkans leader in June 2026. The main political objective of the Montenegrin government for 2026 is to close all remaining chapters of negotiations for EU membership.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will hold elections in October. There are major challenges because of the institutional deadlock and constant tensions with secessionists of Republika Srpska who continue to threaten the Dayton Peace Agreement.

In addition to political developments, 2026 could be a historical year for Kosovo and Albania in sports – the two national teams have the chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Sources: Anti-Corruption Agency is verifying Vjosa Osmani’s wealth (media)

Citing sources in the Anti-Corruption Agency, VOX Kosova reported on Monday that this institution has initiated an official procedure to verify the wealth of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani. The same sources said that the procedure was initiated after the Agency had reportedly found considerable differences in the declaration of wealth between 2024 and 2025.

Djuric: Kurti’s regime has done nothing to change its attitude toward Serbs (Kosovo Online)

Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric, stated that during the three years in which EU measures against Pristina have been in force, Albin Kurti’s regime has done nothing to change its attitude toward Serbs, which is why he believes Brussels’ decision to begin lifting sanctions on Kosovo is not a good one.

“I have neither the habit nor the desire to speak negatively about decision-makers in Brussels, even though that may be popular, because it brings no benefit to Serbia, nor does it help European integration or the country’s positioning in Europe. But for the sake of truth, I do not think it is the right decision for Brussels to start lifting measures against Pristina that were imposed on Kurti’s government three years ago, because his regime has done essentially nothing to change its attitude toward Serbs,” Djuric said in an interview with Newsmax Balkans.

He pointed out that if this is being treated as a reward—because local elections were held and people were allowed to vote, and because there are no longer imposed Albanian mayors in municipalities where 99 percent of the population is Serbian—and if that is supposed to be celebrated as a success of democracy, even though just three weeks ago Kurti’s government attempted to ban the Serb List from participating in the elections, then something is wrong with the criteria used to assess what constitutes success.