• CEC: Counting of ballots completed (RTK)
• Vetevendosje celebrates election result (media)
• LDK does not rule out possibility of coalition with Vetevendosje (Zeri)
• Veseli: PDK will move to opposition (media)
• Haradinaj doesn’t comment on election results, says AAK marks increase (media)
• CEC: Around 39,000 invalid ballots, voter turnout at 44.18 percent (Koha)
• CEC and monitors conclude election process was in order (Koha Ditore)
• U.S. Ambassador happy with turnout in Kosovo (RTK)
• PDK rushed into declaring victory in yesterday’s elections (Zeri)
• Haziri: We are happy the opposition bloc scored a convincing victory (media)
• Bahtiri: It is confirmed, Vetevendosje wins today’s election (media)
• NISMA-AKR coalition risks not crossing election threshold (Koha)
• Bahtiri: It is confirmed, Vetevendosje wins today’s election (media)
• “New government to be formed for Kosovo’s needs not to suit Belgrade or Brussels” (Koha)
• Vucic: Serbian List scored most convincing history (media)
• Rakic: Serbian List won over 98 percent of votes in Serb municipalities (media)
• Serbian List leads in Serb-majority municipalities (Klan Kosova)
• Rama congratulates Kosovo for successful elections (Telegrafi)

CEC: Counting of ballots completed (RTK)

Spokesman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) informed that the counting of ballots at the polling stations concluded last night, and only the processing of data at four percent of the polling stations has remained to be completed. He added that these are preliminary results, but they will make efforts to display data from all polling stations as soon as possible.

Based on the data published at the CEC official site, Vetevendosje Movement gained 197.966 votes or 25.79 percent. The second is the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 192.300 or 25.05 percent.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is the third with 162.342 votes or 21.15 percent of the votes. AAK-PSD coalition gained 89.287 votes or 11.63 percent. Coalition Social-Democratic Initiative and New Kosovo Alliance received 37.786 votes or 4.92 percent. The Serbian List received 47.633 votes or 6.21 percent.

These preliminary results do not include conditioned votes, votes sent by mail or those of the individuals with special needs.

Under the headline: Convincing victory of the opposition, Koha Ditore writes that the opposition parties have scored convincing victory in early parliamentary elections and that the day has come for Albin Kurti to lead the government of Kosovo, referring to the party’s election campaign slogan: “The day has come.” Zeri on the front-page coverage of the election results, writes: Revolution! It says that preliminary results of 6 October elections brought forth an unseen political reversal. “By punishing the parties that were in power for years, the electorate gave the trust to Vetevendosje Movement, a party which has never so far held power in the country,” the paper writes on the cover. Bota Sot at the same time writes that Kosovo is celebrating as Vetevendosje and LDK have “defeated commanders’ parties”.

Vetevendosje celebrates election result (media)

As the Central Election Commission (CEC) neared counting of votes showing Vetevendosje in the slight lead ahead of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Vetevendosje supporters gathered at the "Skenderbeu" square in Pristina to celebrate the results.

Vetevendosje leader and candidate for prime minister Albin Kurti on the occassion thanked all his counter candidates, in particular Vjosa Osmani from the LDK and expressed readiness for cooperation.

“With her campaign she has inspired many women and girls to become active in society, economy… Therefore, I want to cooperate with Vjosa. As early as tomorrow I will establish contacts with the Democratic League of Kosovo. We had a good opposition cooperation with LDK, and I will extend the hand of cooperation,” he said.

Kurti also pledged to maintain partnership with Kosovo allies. He said he will be partner to partner countries and an ally to ally countries.

“We have lost a great deal of time in these twenty years, so many wasted opportunities, so many lost chances, but the day has come. The day has come for you dear people, regardless of whether in villages or cities, regardless of gener, everyone will be equal before the law. You will all have the chance to live honestly,”" Kurti said.

LDK does not rule out possibility of coalition with Vetevendosje (Zeri)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) candidate for prime minister, Vjosa Osmani, did not accept defeat at the parliamentary elections although preliminary results show Vetevendosje in the lead, Zeri reports. Osmani said they will wait until the last vote is counted but underlined that whatever the final result will be, LDK will accept it.

Osmani did not rule out the possibility of a post-election coalition with Vetevendosje. “The winner cannot be declared today because we will wait until the last vote is counted. I want to thank everyone. I believe that tomorrow once conditional votes are counted we will have a final result and we will come out and speak then,” she said.

Veseli: PDK will move to opposition (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Kadri Veseli addressed the media last night when the election results showed his party in the third place winning 21.2 percent of votes. He said PDK will be moving to the opposition.

“Together with the Democratic Party of Kosovo we have worked hard to win these elections, but did not manage to win. Citizens gave their verdict and we accept it. The Democratic Party of Kosovo will move to opposition, but we will continue to serve the nation and the state,” Veseli said.

Haradinaj doesn’t comment on election results, says AAK marks increase (media)

AAK – PSD candidate for Prime Minister and outgoing Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, did not want to comment on the preliminary results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, most news websites report. Haradinaj told reporters that the elections were held in the best way possible and Kosovo showed the highest political maturity. “What is most important is that the mandate is always safer when it is returned to the people, especially in times of political pressure on our country. I hope this standard that has been set will be respected by all,” he said. Haradinaj also said that the AAK has marked an increase. “And the fact that there was a higher turnout is very important. It was worth giving back the mandate to the people,” he added.

CEC: Around 39,000 invalid ballots, voter turnout at 44.18 percent (Koha)

According to preliminary results of the Central Election Commission (CEC), 812,049 people turned out to vote in yesterday’s elections, or 44.18 percent. Of 95 percent of votes counted, there are around 39,000 ballots that have been declared invalid.

CEC and monitors conclude election process was in order (Koha Ditore)

The paper reports that despite the arrest of 29 persons during yesterday’s voting process in connection to vote fraud, the Central Election Commission (CEC), security institutions and organisations monitoring elections all confirmed the process took place in a peaceful and orderly atmosphere.

After the polls closed at 7 p.m., head of CEC Valdete Daka said in a press conference that the process went well. She thanked the law enforcement institutions as well as the OSCE.

At the same time, the Democracy in Action coalition of NGOs monitoring the elections said the process was in order despite challenges reported. Ismet Krasniqi said one of the main challenges was that more than 7,000 people had problems in finding the right polling station. He also said that problems were faced during the voting assistance as well as with the privacy of the votes. Krasniqi said they observed 55 cases of ballots being photographed.

U.S. Ambassador happy with turnout in Kosovo (RTK)

The U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Philip Kosnett, valued the turnout of Kosovo people on the 6 October election day. “What a great day – happy to see so many of you taking time to vote – this proves your strong commitment to Kosovo’s future. Kosovo is your home,” Kosnett wrote on his Twitter account.

PDK rushed into declaring victory in yesterday’s elections (Zeri)

Soon after polls closed yesterday, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) declared victory. Abelard Tahiri said in a press conference that although the party was expecting less votes, they would nevertheless be the first.

“Based on all the information we have the Democratic Party of Kosovo will be the first in the majority of municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo but we do expect a less overwhelming victory than usual. We are certain that this will be confirmed when the last vote in this process is counted,” Tahiri said.

Haziri: We are happy the opposition bloc scored a convincing victory (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Lutfi Haziri told a press conference in Pristina on Sunday evening “we are happy that the opposition bloc has scored a convincing victory”. According to Haziri, the LDK has an advantage over the Vetevendosje Movement. “We will wait until 21:30 for an official confirmation and greater clarity,” he said. Haziri also said the exit poll results by Klan Kosova “are very approximate to the samples we have received from the ground”. He said it was still too early to talk about possible partners for the next government coalition.

Bahtiri: It is confirmed, Vetevendosje wins today’s election (media)

Mitrovica South Mayor and Vetevendosje member, Agim Bahtiri, told reporters in Mitrovica on Sunday evening that “it is now confirmed, the Vetevendosje Movement is the winner of today’s elections”.

NISMA-AKR coalition risks not crossing election threshold (Koha)

The coalition between Fatmir Limaj’s Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) and Behgjet Pacolli’s New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) risks not managing to cross the 5 percent election threshold with preliminary results showing the parties at 4.92 percent.

At the closing of the polls, Limaj told a press conference that this coalition will have at least seven seats in the new Assembly and that NISMA will have a decisive role in the formation of the new government. “What I can say to the whole of Kosovo is that NISMA has scored an extraordinary result, we have 7 MPs and we are fighting for the eighth,” he said.

Bahtiri: It is confirmed, Vetevendosje wins today’s election (media)

Mitrovica South Mayor and Vetevendosje member, Agim Bahtiri, told reporters in Mitrovica on Sunday evening that “it is now confirmed, the Vetevendosje Movement is the winner of today’s elections”.

“New government to be formed for Kosovo’s needs not to suit Belgrade or Brussels” (Koha)

The paper’s Brussels-based correspondent, Augustin Palokaj, argues in an opinion piece that after Sunday’s parliamentary elections, people outside Kosovo, especially in Brussels and Belgrade, think only about how the election result will be reflected on the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “But Kosovo should focus more on fixing its own internal arrangements, to stop corruption and create a functioning state that respects independence, impartiality and the professional of the state apparatus and worry less about the dialogue and the concerns of bureaucrats in Brussels or Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade,” he writes. Palokaj further argues that “Kosovo must see which government will bring a better life and not which one would make work easier for Brussels and Belgrade. Brussels did not ask Kosovo when it appointed a sworn opponent of Kosovo’s independence – Josep Borrel – as the EU High Representative. Even more unacceptable is the debate on who could be acceptable to the ‘international factor’ and who could not in the new government of Kosovo. At a time when Serbia for many years now has been led by people who still praise Slobodan Milosevic, calling him a great leader, and who glorify war criminals and deny genocide, to say that certain political leaders of Kosovo are unacceptable for ‘internationals’ is great foolishness and an own-goal for Kosovars”.

Vucic: Serbian List scored most convincing history (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told a press conference in Belgrade on Sunday that the Serbian List scored the most convincing victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Kosovo by winning over 98 percent of votes in Serbian areas. “I have won, and I have participated in many different victories in various elections and even when they said that we had no chance. This is one of my most favourite victories, achieved in the most difficult conditions, when many representatives of international organisations and countries did their best to bring down the Serbian List’s monopoly and the influence of Belgrade” Vucic said. He also said he expects Pristina to abolish the import tariff on Serbian goods and the resumption of the dialogue.

Rakic: Serbian List won over 98 percent of votes in Serb municipalities (media)

Serbian List leader Goran Rakic, in a press conference on Sunday evening in Mitrovica North, said that this party has won over 98 percent of votes in the Serb municipalities. “According to our data, the Serbian List has won all ten seats,” he said. “This is an indicator of whom the Serbs trust. Serbs trust our country, the state of Serbia and our president, Aleksandar Vucic,” Rakic said. He thanked the citizens who cast their ballots, noting that they showed responsibility for the situation of the Serbian people in Kosovo.

Serbian List leads in Serb-majority municipalities (Klan Kosova)

According to the Central Election Commission preliminary results, Serbian List has scored victory in six municipalities with Serb majority. The party is shown to have won in Leposavic, Zubin Potok, Zvecan, Gracanica, Shterpce, and Ranilluk. According to the CEC, the Serbian List has won 47,574 votes or 6.26 percent.

Rama congratulates Kosovo for successful elections (Telegrafi)

The Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama congratulated Kosovo for successful parliamentary elections held this Sunday. “Congratulations to Kosovo for successful parliamentary elections! Congratulations to Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje for the best result. Congratulations to Vjosa Osmani’s LDK for the second-best result. Congratulations to Kadri Veseli’s PDK for excellent admission of the result. Wish a happy new day for Kosovo,” Rama Wrote on his Twitter account.