Pristina, Kosovo - Kosovo Prime Minister Kosovo Albin Kurti's left-wing party won most seats in weekend parliamentary elections but did not have a majority in the House of Representatives, according to preliminary results released on Monday , forcing it to find allies to form the next government.
Sunday’s vote was key to determining who would lead Kosovo, as negotiations on normalizing ties with rival Serbia remained stagnant, while foreign funding in one of Europe’s poorest countries remained questioned.
The election is the first time since independence in 2008 that the Kosovo Parliament has completed a full four years of mission. This is the ninth parliamentary vote in Kosovo since the end of the war between Serbian government forces and Albanian separatists in 1998-1999, pushing the Serbian army away after 78 days of NATO air movement.
Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence.
According to the Central Election Commission, Kurti's Self-Determination Movement Party or vetevendosje! The number of votes was 88%, winning 41.3%.
The main leader of the Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK) was detained in the International Criminal Tribunal in the Netherlands and charged with war crimes, winning 21.8% of the vote.
Next, 17.8% of support is the Demboration of Kosovo, the country's oldest political party, LDK. After the LDK's death in 2006, its leader Ibrahim Rugova lost most of its support. Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj's future alliance has won 7.7% of the vote.
Despite this, Kurty was optimistic, although his remarks made no decisions that he intended to ask for joining his coalition government.
"The people have won. Vetevendosje! Korean won. We are the winners who will form the next cabinet.
The election agency said the commission's page temporarily dropped on Sunday because it was "due to the high interest of citizens in learning outcomes." The results were collected manually.
Of the 92% of the vote, the preliminary turnout was 40.6%, 7% lower than four years ago.
The new 120-seat parliament reserves 20 seats for ethnic minorities, regardless of the election results, 10 of which are Serb minorities.
In Washington freezes foreign aid and the EU about two years ago, the EU suspended funding for some projects, and Kurti's new term will face multiple challenges. He is also under pressure to increase public wages and pensions, improve education and health services, and fight poverty.
With a population of 1.6 million, Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with an annual GDP of less than 6,000 euros.
Kurti is also likely to try to repair ties with the Western powers as his cabinet took several steps, which intensified tensions with Serbs in Serbia and Kosovo, including banning the use of Serbian currencies, Dinars and Dinas Nar transferred to Kosovo. Serb.
The ethnic minorities in Kosovo depend on social services and payments in Belgrade.
The United States, the United States, the United States, the European Union and NATO-led stabilization forces have urged the government of the Kosovo capital Pristina to avoid unilateral action, fearing a resurgence of interracial conflict.
Srpska Lista, the main party of the Serb minority, won 2.8% of the vote in Sunday's elections - more than half of the prize money four years ago.
The party’s leader, Zlatan Elek, said it was “the absolute winner of this election” and thanked Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for “strong support for our people” .
KFOR increased its presence in Kosovo in Kosovo ahead of tensions with Serbia last year and the general election.
104 observers from the EU, 104 observers from the European Commission, and about 1,600 people from international or local organizations monitored the vote.
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Associated Press reporter Vojislav Stjepanovic in Mitrovika, Kosovo, contributed to the report.