Kosovo is set to hold a general election on February 9, with four candidates vying for the position of prime minister. This will be the country’s first regular election for the 120-seat parliament since 2010, following a decade of political instability that led to multiple snap elections.

The election comes at a time when Kosovo faces international isolation, with EU sanctions still in place and warnings regarding current Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s policy towards Serbia and Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority. 

Kosovo, predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a bloody conflict in 1998-1999. However, Serbia has yet to recognise it as a separate state.

The three main political contenders in the elections are the ruling Vetevendosje led by Kurti, in alliance with Alternativa and Guxo, a party set up by President Vjosa Osmani, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) under Lumir Abdixhiku and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) led by Memli Krasniqi.

Kurti, Abdixhiku, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj and Bedri Hamza, the current mayor of South Mitrovica and former finance minister from the PDK, are competing to become Kosovo’s next prime minister. The four candidates represent Kosovo’s largest political parties. 

Kurti anticipates that his centre-left Vetevendosje movement, in coalition with smaller parties, will secure victory in the upcoming general election.

His optimism is backed up by recent polls. The latest survey released in February by Alternativa shows the ruling party at 53% support, followed by the PDK on 17% and the LDK on 14%. The AAK, led by Haradinaj and in coalition with two other parties, has the backing of 7.6% of those polled.

The pre-election campaign has been marked by unprecedentedly harsh rhetoric among key political opponents, resulting in fines exceeding €400,000 for inflammatory statements and hate speech.

Researcher Burbuqe Kastrati from the FOL Movement highlighted concerns over candidate integrity, revealing that three major political entities — Vetevendosje, the AAK-NISMA Coalition and the LDK — have individuals on their lists with legal issues, according to Kosovo-online.

According to a report presented by a coalition of NGOs, a total of 23 candidates across these parties face legal challenges.

Kurti has also been criticised by US envoy for special missions Richard Grenell, who questioned his reliability as a partner for the United States. Grenell, who served as a special envoy for the Balkans under the previous Trump administration, stated that both the Trump and Biden administrations, as well as the EU and Nato, have condemned Kurti’s unilateral actions for destabilising the region.

Writing on social media platform X, Grenell dismissed Kurti’s claims of close ties with the US, calling them misleading.

This will be the ninth election since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.

A total of 28 political entities are participating. Among them, 20 are political parties, five are coalitions, two are citizens’ initiatives, and one is an independent candidate.

Out of 120 seats, 20 seats are reserved for representatives of minority communities. The Serbian community holds 10 mandates. The electoral threshold for entry into Kosovo parliament is set at 5%.

The total number of registered voters stands at nearly 2.1mn, with nearly 105,000 registered abroad.

Kosovo’s population, according to the 2024 census, is recorded at under 1.6mn, raising concerns about the disparity between registered voters and eligible citizens. The Central Election Commission (CEC) has printed over 1.7mn ballots and designated 941 polling stations across the country.

The last parliamentary elections in Kosovo took place in February 2021, following two snap elections in the preceding three years. In that election, Kurti’s Vetevendosje secured just over 50% of the votes.