Kosovo’s ruling left-wing Vetevendosje party, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, secured the most votes in the February 9 general election, winning 40.3% of the ballots, according to exit polls published by Telegrafi. However, the party fell short of the majority needed to form a government outright.

This was the country’s first regular parliamentary election since 2010, following a decade of political instability that resulted in multiple snap elections.

According to exit polls conducted by the NGO UBO, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) came second with 21.4% of the vote, followed by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 19.3%.

The coalition between the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Social Democratic Initiative (Nisma) secured 7.2%. Other parties are not expected to gain enough votes to enter parliament.

Based on the projected results, Vetevendosje will have 46 seats in the 120-seat parliament, followed by the PDK with 24, the LDK with 22 and AAK-Nisma with eight. Twenty seats are reserved for ethnic minorities, including 10 for Kosovo Serbs.

The largest party representing Kosovo Serbs, the Serb List, participated in the election after boycotting the previous vote four years ago.

Polling stations across the country closed at 7 pm, although voting continued in some locations where citizens were still in line. Nearly 2mn citizens were eligible to vote, including over 125,800 first-time voters.

Voter turnout stood at 38.9% by 5 pm, with the highest participation recorded in Pristina, Serb-majority municipalities, and Ferizaj, where turnout exceeded 40%.

The last parliamentary election in Kosovo was held in February 2021, following two consecutive snap elections. In that vote, Kurti’s Vetevendosje secured just over 50% of the ballots.