• ECAP overrules CEC decision: Voting only in Kosovo diplomatic offices (media)
• Hamza: Kosovo will return to Washington stronger than ever (media)
• Murati says number of new enterprises has increased, “over 11,000” (media)
• No buses will operate in Pristina until funds are allocated (Indeksonline)
• Serbian Democracy will not participate in early parliamentary elections (Radio KiM)
• Kosovo boosts defence spending, but where’s the oversight? (BIRN)
• Animal group warns abandonments turning city into ‘de-facto shelter’ (Kossev)
• Kosovo insurers' Jan-Oct GWPs rise 6% y/y (SeeNews)
• From haven to isolation: Tales of Albanians migrating to Albania (PI)

ECAP overrules CEC decision: Voting only in Kosovo diplomatic offices (media)

Most news websites report that the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) has overruled an earlier decision by the Central Election Commission (CEC) according to which voting abroad was allowed even outside Kosovo’s diplomatic offices. The ECAP decision now provides that the voting for the December 28 parliamentary elections can only be done in Kosovo’s diplomatic missions. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) welcomed the ECAP decision, with senior party member Alban Zogaj saying the decision is very positive and that “it was absurd to vote in private premises”. He also said that the LDK addressed the issue with ECAP. Senior member of the Vetevendosje Movement, Hekuran Murati, on the other hand accused the LDK of “acting against the interests of the diaspora” and that it is obstructing their participation in the December 28 elections. LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku reacted to statements by VV officials, claiming that the VV was trying to manipulate the upcoming elections “because they have realized a big truth: the diaspora can no longer be deceived, the diaspora cannot be bought, the diaspora is changing”. Alternativa leader Mimoza Kusari-Lila, who is in a coalition with the Vetevendosje Movement, argued in a Facebook post that in EU member states, the diaspora is allowed to vote outside diplomatic missions. She also said that the vote of the diaspora is not optional but an essential part of Kosovo’s democratic legitimacy. 

Hamza: Kosovo will return to Washington stronger than ever (media)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Bedri Hamza has concluded his visit to the United States and said that “Kosovo will return to Washington stronger than ever, with concrete projects, tangible investments and with US involvement in Kosovo’s rapid development in diplomacy, economy, energy sector, army and intelligence”.

Hamza said that during his two-day stay in Washington D.C. he presented his vision “for the development of our Republic and rebuilding the deep partnership between Kosovo and the US administration”. He also said that he returned to Kosovo on a very positive note about “the endless opportunities of cooperation between Kosovo and the US, after a difficult period of lack of communication and the suspension of the strategic dialogue”.

Murati says number of new enterprises has increased, “over 11,000” (media)

Kosovo’s caretaker Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, said today that there has been an increase in the number of new enterprises and that until late October it had surpassed 11,000. “According to the current trend, by the end of the year this figure is expected to reach over 13,000 which would be an all-time record. This is an indicator of the good state of the economy which is continuously on the rise,” Murati said in a Facebook post.

No buses will operate in Pristina until funds are allocated (Indeksonline)

The public and private transportation in Pristina will remain blocked today after workers of Urban Traffic and private operators are continuing their protest over the non-payment of funds by the municipality of Pristina. Elmi Gashi, a representative of Urban Traffic, said once the funds are allocated, they need 30 minutes to start operating. “The protest will continue until the municipality pays off the debts it owns to Urban Traffic and private operators,” he said.

Serbian Democracy will not participate in early parliamentary elections (Radio KiM)

Serbian Democracy announced it will not participate in the extraordinary parliamentary elections scheduled for December 28, saying that negotiations with opposition groups collapsed after demands were made for its president, Aleksandar Arsenijevic, to be fully excluded from the candidate list and political life, which it described as unacceptable. The party explained that the Central Election Commission issued deadlines only on 24 November, leaving just a few days for registration, fee payment, and collection of signatures. It argued that such short deadlines favour larger political parties while marginalising smaller ones and the opposition, undermining equal competition. Serbian Democracy noted that it had engaged in serious talks with other Serbian opposition groups and made concessions to preserve unity, including agreeing that Arsenijevic would be placed at the end of the list as a symbolic gesture. However, new conditions emerged that the party considered aimed at eliminating an independent and principled voice within the Serb community. Despite not registering, Serbian Democracy emphasised its “openness to future cooperation, stressing that only united efforts can provide the Serb people in Kosovo with a credible political alternative”.

Kosovo boosts defence spending, but where’s the oversight? (BIRN)

From Turkish combat drones to US-made anti-tank missiles, Kosovo says it has spent at least 430 million euros over the past four years to beef up its army, but transparency is in short supply.

The outlay follows a decision in 2018 to transform a lightly armed primarily crisis-response force, the Kosovo Security Force, KSF, into a full-blown army of 5,000 soldiers

Kosovo is currently in the second phase of that transition.

In an interview with BIRN, acting Defence Minister Ejup Maqedonci said Kosovo’s defence spending had hit two per cent of gross domestic product, GDP, “and exceeded the comprehensive transition plan that was scheduled to end in 2026”.

He confirmed the purchase of US-made Puma surveillance drones, Turkish-made Bayraktar combat drones, and kamikaze Skydagger drones, also made in Turkey. But, in accordance with official policy, Maqedonci declined to specify the quantities or prices paid. The maker of the Bayraktar drones has confirmed an initial delivery of five TB2 drones in 2023 with another five on the way.

Over the past two years, Kosovo has also bought US-made Javelin anti-tank missile systems as well as Turkish OMTAS and HAR-66 medium-range missiles and platform machine guns from Turkish arms manufacturer MKE.

It was the US that confirmed the quantity and prices involved in the Javelin deal in January last year – 246 anti-tank missiles and 24 lightweight command launch units at a cost of roughly $75 million.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/Ixfqf

Kosovo insurers' Jan-Oct GWPs rise 6% y/y (SeeNews)

The gross written premiums (GWPs) of insurance companies operating in Kosovo increased to 148.7 million euro ($172.4 million) in the first ten months of 2025, from 140.4 million euro in the same period of last year, central bank data showed.

The combined net profit of Kosovo insurers rose 34% on the year to 14.8 million euro in the January-October period, the central bank said in a data release earlier this week.

The assets held by Kosovo insurance companies expanded 6% year-on-year to 356.1 million euro as at end-October.

Animal welfare group warns abandonments turning city into ‘de-facto shelter’ (Kossev)

Volunteer animal welfare organisation “Sapa” has filed another report to the Kosovo Police, warning of what it describes as a new wave of animal abandonment across North Mitrovica. The group says the city has, in recent months, become overwhelmed by cases of puppies and adult dogs being dumped at multiple locations.

“North Mitrovica has been facing a new wave of inhumane abandonment of puppies and adult dogs across various sites in the city,” the organisation wrote in its latest statement.

The problem, they noted, has been ongoing for years but has now reached a point that “no one can ignore anymore.”

The group previously sounded the alarm on 15 November, saying that the situation had become “critical,” after volunteers discovered several boxes full of puppies in different parts of the city over a two-day period.

In response to the increasing number of cases, Sapa said it has filed a criminal complaint, stressing that such acts constitute an offence clearly defined by law.

The long-standing lack of accountability, they warned, has allowed the problem to escalate, ultimately turning the city into a “de facto shelter for abandoned animals from the entire region.”

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/kyvZZ

From haven to isolation: Tales of Albanians migrating to Albania (PI)

A small neighbourhood in central Albania became a new home for many ethnic Albanians who left today’s Kosovo and North Macedonia in the 1930s. Residents recount tales of their ancestors who settled there and the locals’ hospitality.

Children play in front of the mosque courtyard in “Fushë-Mbret (King field)” neighbourhood in Elbasan, a town in central Albania, taking advantage of the rain that has just stopped. Only a few cars head towards the city centre and the streets are almost empty. 

The mosque in this neighbourhood is not merely a place of worship; it more resembles a communal space where men, women, and children meet, picking oranges from the trees in its garden, while the town gradually expands around them with streets in new residential blocks being named after ethnic Albanian patriots from Kosovo.

Officially known as the Skënderbej neighbourhood, the residents of Elbasan refer to it as Fushë-Mbret, a name dating back to the Ottoman Empire. Around 90 years ago, the field that previously served for military exercises and agricultural activities was transformed into one of the city’s main neighbourhoods, through the policies of Albania’s King Ahmet Zogu, who ruled the country in different positions from 1922 to 1939. 

In 1935, King Zogu I provided land and construction permits for housing for ethnic Albanians expelled from the Serbo-Croat-Slovene Kingdom, in what are now the neighbouring countries of Kosovo and North Macedonia.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/MRKPH