• Kosovo’s ruling party scores convincing win in snap parliamentary elections (media)
• Kosovo’s Kurti promises swift formation of new government after election win (Reuters)
• Abdixhiku: I will resign if the LDK Assembly requests this (AP)
• Gjoshi: PDK will return even stronger, thank you to those who trusted us (Nacionale)
• Haradinaj claims AAK won 8 percent of vote, wants coalition with LDK and PDK (Kallxo)
• Serbian List: We have won all ten reserved seats for Serb community (media)

Kosovo’s ruling party scores convincing win in snap parliamentary elections (media)

Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) announced the preliminary results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, with the Vetevendosje Movement leading with 49.79 percent of votes, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) with 21.18 percent, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) 13.77, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) 5.74 and the Serbian List 3.87. The voter turnout was 44.99 percent. The Kosovo Police said in a statement on Sunday that in terms of security the election process went smooth and without serious incidents. 

Most news websites report that based on the vote count so far, Vetevendosje will have 56 seats in the Kosovo Assembly, the PDK will have 23, the LDK will have 15, the AAK six and the Serbian List will have 10 seats.

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti told a press conference on Sunday night that it is en route to becoming the biggest victory in Kosovo’s history. He said that after the final vote count, Vetevendosje will surpass its 50.2 percent victory in the February 2021 parliamentary elections. Kurti’s party has now won nearly 50 percent of parliamentary seats and can form the new government by cooperating with parties from the non-majority communities. 

Kurti said that “the sooner the election results are certified the faster we are going to have to form the institutions and continue our good work”. He said that a lot of work awaits, including the EU Growth Plan amounting to €880 million and three agreements with the World Bank which in total amount to over €1 billion. “From now, I call on the opposition parties to cooperate in the Assembly on international agreements and other draft laws,” he said.

Asked about the election of the Kosovo President due in March, Kurti said he would also discuss with the opposition on the issue of the President or the new President. “But first I will discuss the issue with the current President and then we will take the next steps in order to move forward together, because it is known that both with regards to international agreements and the election of the president, there need to be at least 80 MPs in the room, even if they vote against, and we need to discuss this,” he said.

Kosovo’s Kurti promises swift formation of new government after election win (Reuters)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he will swiftly form a new government after his party won half the votes in Sunday's election, signalling a possible end to the year-long political deadlock that has paralysed parliament and delayed key international funding.

The vote is the second this year in Kosovo after Kurti's Vetevendosje Party fell short of a majority in February. Months of failed coalition talks prompted President Vjosa Osmani to dissolve parliament in November and call an early election.

Kurti's party was leading with 49.3% of Sunday's vote, with 99% of votes counted after polls closed at 7 p.m. local time (1800 GMT).

"Once the results will be certified we should swiftly constitute the parliament and then form immediately a new government," Kurti told a press conference at his party's headquarters.

"We don't have time to lose and we should move forward as fast as we can together."

He called on members of the opposition to support him in voting for international loan deals, which require a two-thirds majority to pass.

Kurti's supporters chanted his name as they celebrated in the streets of Pristina, waving his party's flags as fireworks lit the sky in temperatures of minus-3 Celsius.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2wtfpwf4

Abdixhiku: I will resign if the LDK Assembly requests this (AP)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku told a press conference on Sunday that he will resign his post if the party’s assembly requests this, after its poor results in the snap parliamentary elections. “I must admit that I have not managed to get the LDK to where it needs to be. We held a dignified campaign and there was nothing lack in its content, but this is the people’s verdict, and we need to bow to it,” he said. “I will convene the Assembly of the Democratic League of Kosovo and there we will present and discuss all matters, including my responsibility as the leader of this house of democracy. Everything will be discussed at the general assembly.”

Gjoshi: PDK will return even stronger, thank you to those who trusted us (Nacionale)

Secretary of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Betim Gjoshi said in a Facebook post that despite the difficult circumstances it faced, the PDK made a stand and scored results in the early parliamentary elections. “Thank you to party leader and candidate for Prime Minister Bedri Hamza, the MP candidates, and our structures and activists throughout Kosovo. Thank you to the citizens who trusted us. Congratulations to the winners. The PDK will come back stronger. For Kosovo. Because the PDK does not stop!” he said.

Haradinaj claims AAK won 8 percent of vote, wants coalition with LDK and PDK (Kallxo)

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj told a press conference before the preliminary election results that his party has won eight percent of the total vote on Sunday. He said that an agreement must be reached with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). “The AAK does not set conditions for the opposition, but now is the time for all of us to reflect and we are ready to cooperate with the LDK and PDK to form a majority,” Haradinaj said.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, the AAK has won 5.68 percent of the total vote on Sunday.

Serbian List: We have won all ten reserved seats for Serb community (media)

The Serbian List, the biggest Kosovo Serb party, said on Sunday after the preliminary election results that it has won over 90 percent of the votes of the Serb community and all ten reserved seats for Serbs in the Kosovo Assembly. SL leader Zlatan Elek told a press conference that this party has convincingly won the biggest number of votes in Serb-majority parties and claimed that the party led by Nenad Rasic – For Freedom, Justice and Survival – has won votes in areas where Serbs don’t live. The preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission show that the SL has won 4.37 percent of the total vote on Sunday.