Kosovo: Left-wing opposition nearly doubles showing

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Kosovo's left-wing opposition leader Albin Kurti declared victory in weekend snap elections, nearly doubling his party’s showing since the last polls.

Kurti’s socialist Self-Determination Movement (LVV) won a clear victory with 48% of the vote based on 98.25% of the votes counted, according to the Central Election Commission (CIK).

In the 2019 general election, the LVV was elected as the first party with 25.49% of the vote.

Polling stations closed Sunday evening following the second parliamentary election in 18 months.

According to the latest data on the CIK’s website, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is in second place with 17.35%, while the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is third with 13.18%.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) is fourth with 7.42%.

The Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo (KDTP), which is not subject to a 5% electoral threshold as they are a minority party, won 0.78% of the vote, and the Innovative Turkish Movement Party (YTHP) garnered 0.14%.

According to preliminary results, the LVV is expected to be represented by 56 deputies, the PDK by 20, the LDK by 15 and the AAK by nine in the 120-member assembly. Ten of the remaining seats in parliament will belong to representatives of the Serbian community and the other 10 to other minority communities in the country.

The Turkish community has two seats in parliament.

Turnout was 47% and the voting process took place smoothly, but it did not include votes cast by mail or from the diaspora.

In Kosovo's last general election in 2019, the turnout was 45%.

- Self-Determination Movement

Founded in 2005, the LVV conducts social and political change campaigns based on the principles of equality, democracy, political freedom and social justice for every citizen.

The LVV, a social democrat and also Albanian nationalist party, participated in the general election in 2011 for the first time and was eligible to enter parliament.

However, the LVV says its first success in local elections was in 2013, when it won in several municipalities. In the 2017 election, the LVV remained in opposition despite being the largest party.

While the LVV was the party that won the most votes in 2019, allowing Kurti to become the country's fourth prime minister, the coalition it formed with the LDK fell after two months.

- Albin Kurti

Albin Kurti was born in the capital city of Pristina on March 24, 1975. He was included in the administration of the Pristina University Independent Students Association in August 1997 and organized peaceful protests demanding the evacuation of the university's buildings and facilities occupied by the Serbian regime.

Kurti served as secretary of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s political representative Adem Demaci during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo and was detained by Serbian police on April 27, 1999.

With the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosovo on June 10, 1999, Kurti and his accompanying Albanian Serbs were transferred to prisons. Kurti was released on Dec. 7, 2001 as a result of international pressure.

Kurti, who is a graduate of Pristina University in Telecommunications and Computer Engineering, is married and has one child.

The former Serbian province of Kosovo declared independence on Feb. 17, 2008 and is recognized by more than 100 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany and Turkey.