Thewesternbalkans
The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani has set February 9, 2025, as the date for holding regular parliamentary elections. Osmani signed a decree saying the date was set after consultations with the political parties and the Central Election Commission (CEC).
According to Bekim Kupina, a political adviser to President Osmani, the date was selected as “the optimal date that balances the preferences of all difficult parties.” The presidency emphasized the importance of beginning the election campaign after 7 January, once the winter holidays have concluded.
Additionally, Osmani has extended an invitation to the European Union to send a mission for a preliminary assessment, and she plans to request EU election observers closer to the election date.
The CEC has started an information campaign for the citizens of Kosovo for several weeks. The spokesperson of the CEC, Valmir Elezi, in a statement to the media, said that they are distributing information brochures about the process of registration and voting outside Kosovo.
Comment: The election comes at a time of very tense relations with Serbia when Kurti’s government has been trying to take over all the levers of power in the north and eliminate the parallel education, healthcare, banking and postal services which are financed by Belgrade to ensure the political loyalty of the Serbs in Kosovo.
The decision to schedule regular elections comes also after months of widespread speculation regarding the possibility of new extraordinary elections in Kosovo. Some of the largest opposition parties – Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo that are calling for the removal of the Kurti’s government have even advocated for its overthrow, with the aim of holding early elections. Despite these discussions, no concrete steps were taken towards early elections.
It should be noted that all the elections that have been held since Kosovo declared independence in 2008 have been extraordinary and were the result of internal political crises and the government led by Albin Kurti will be the first in the country’s history to complete its full four-year term.
The previous parliamentary elections in country were held on February 14, 2021. The Self-Determination Movement (Vetevendosje), led by Albin Kurti, won 50.28% of the votes, securing 58 of the 120 seats in parliament.
