December 2025 Kosovan parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Kosovo on 28 December 2025 to elect the 120 members of the Assembly. In the previous election in February 2025, no party had won a majority of seats, resulting in a hung parliament with Vetëvendosje, party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, remaining the largest party.^[1][2]

The result was a decisive victory for Vetëvendosje, which gained nine seats, winning 57 in total, just four short of an outright majority.^[3]

The February elections saw Vetëvendosje (LVV) winning 48 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority. Following the election, both PDK and AAK indicated that they would not form a government with LVV.^[4][5] The LDK later announced that it would not support joining a coalition with LVV, instead proposing a transitional government composing all ethnic Albanian parties,^[6] though LVV rejected this.^[7] As a result, the party was required to seek the support of other minority parties if it wished to form a coalition.^[4]

The political crisis in Kosovo began on 15 April, when the country's political parties failed to elect the Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, a deadlock that lasted until Dimal Basha was elected speaker on 26 August.^[8] From 26 August to 10 October, Kosovo entered another institutional crisis, this time related to the election of the Serbian Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.^[9] This crisis was resolved when Nenad Rašić was elected in the position on 10 October, and the Assembly was declared constituted.^[10] A first attempt to form a Vetëvendosje government under Albin Kurti was rejected on 26 October.^[11] Glauk Konjufca was nominated for prime minister in a second attempt to form a Vetëvendosje government but a parliamentary majority was not secured in a vote on 19 November, resulting in the dissolution of the Assembly the next day.^[12]

Following the dissolution of the Assembly on 20 November, President Vjosa Osmani set 28 December 2025 as the date for the election.^[13][14]

The 120 members of the Assembly are elected by open list proportional representation for a four-year term, with 20 reserved for national minorities.^[15][16] Seats were allocated using the D'Hondt method with an electoral threshold of 5%.^[17] For overseas voters there were 66 polling stations located in 36 countries around the world.^[18]

The application period for political parties seeking certification and submission of candidate lists for the 2025 elections spanned from 24 November to 7 December 2025.^[19] A total of 24 political entities submitted applications, including 18 political parties, three coalitions, two civil initiatives, and one independent candidate, with 1,180 candidates nominated.^[20]

Election campaigns in Kosovo are regulated to start 30 days before the scheduled election date and must conclude on the day before the election.^[21]

The early days of the campaign saw protests in late November from public and private transport companies in Pristina over financial strains and unpaid salaries that were caused by government failures to approve budgets for both 2025 and 2026.^[22] On 30 November, Vetëvendosje formally established the Vetëvendosje Movement Coalition with Guxo, Alternativa, and PSHDK.^[23] On 3 December, the Central Election Commission (CEC) rejected the Serb List in running in the December elections.^[24] However, the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) overturned the CEC decision on 8 December, allowing the Serb List to run.^[25] Amid campaigning in early December, Serb mayors were sworn into office on 5 December in four Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, replacing the Albanian mayors that had served in office since 2023.^[26] The inauguration of the Serb mayors resulted in Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, announcing on 18 December the lifting of sanctions from Kosovo that first began on June 2023 and the releasing of financial assistance in early 2026.^[27] Debates over the issues of justice reform, security, energy policy, and governance were held by Kallxo between 17 December and 22 December.^[28] On 24 December, four days before the election, Kurti announced that 100 euros will be allocated to children and pensioners at the end of the year, sparking accusations of vote buying.^[29]

Albin Kurti's Vetëvendosje party received 51% of the vote, translating to 57 seats. While short of the 61 seats needed for a government, to form a gouvernement, Vetëvendosje gathered support from non-Serb minority representatives as it did after the 2021 elections. The Democratic Party of Kosovo came second with 20%, maintaining a similar level of support from the last election. The Democratic League of Kosovo came in third with 13%, dropping in support from 18% earlier the same year.^[34][35] Turnout was estimated at 47%.^[36] With the fourth successive victory for Vetëvendosje in parliamentary elections, Kurti was sworn in for a third term as Prime Minister on 11 February 2026.^[37][38]

Albin Kurti, leader of Vetëvendosje, promised to constitute the Assembly and immediately form a new government once the results were certified. He called the opposition to support motions for international loan deals, which require a two-thirds majority to pass.^[40]

President Vjosa Osmani said that elected lawmakers should move swiftly to form a government and agree upon international agreements in the afternoon once results were certified. She warned that not forming institutions immediately would result in the blocking of nearly 1 billion euros in international funding, including growth funds from the EU and World Bank-backed agreements.^[41]

Bedri Hamza, the prime ministerial candidate for the PDK, expressed hope for a quick formation of institutions and support of initiatives that support the interests of Kosovo. Lumir Abdixhiku, a candidate from the LDK, also similarly stressed the country's need for functional democratic institutions.^[34]

On 29 December 2025, High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas and Commissioner Marta Kos published a statement on the election calling on the incoming Assembly to ratify the Growth Plan-related agreements and for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. It also said it would release additional grants for Kosovo in 2026.^[42]

On 14 January 2026, the Central Election Commission (CEC) adopted a decision to recount 10% of polling stations in 28 municipalities and to conduct a full recount in 10 municipalities, following suspicions of manipulation of votes cast for candidates from various political parties.^[43] On 19 January, following the identification of significant discrepancies between the votes counted at the Municipal Counting Centers and those recounted at the Counting and Results Center, a decision was made to recount all ballot boxes in all municipalities, as the observed differences were substantial.^[44]

On 23 January, authorities announced the detention of 109 people on suspicion of falsifying election results and exerting pressure, threats and bribery, of which 68,017 ballots in Prizren alone were believed to have been affected.^[45]

The recount finished on 30 January and the results were certified by the Central Election Commission (KQZ) by 1 February.^[46]