Kosovo

The Kosovo Central Election Commission, CEC, on Monday decided to recount votes cast at all polling stations in all 28 municipalities, after a recount in ten municipalities, which included 36 per cent of the 2,557 ballot boxes, showed manipulation of the votes cast for MP candidates in the first count. 

Hopes of a swift conclusion to Kosovo’s December 28 snap election took a blow on Tuesday after the Central Election Commission, CEC, said 36 per cent of 2,557 ballot boxes will undergo a recount over alleged irregularities in the first count. Ten municipalities will undergo a full recount while 28 others will see up to 10 per cent of the boxes reopened for a review. 

The move could potentially resuscitate the Balkan country's EU hopes, allowing this to be the year its EU membership application, submitted in late 2022, can finally be assessed by the European Commission. It may also allow for a restart of the Brussels-facilitated dialogue with Serbia after a two-year hiatus. 

Kosovo began and ended the year with parliamentary elections, first on February 9, then on December 28. The inconclusive first election led to months of impasse over how to constitute parliament, before a speaker was finally elected in late August. Even then, the winning Vetevendosje party failed to find the allies it needed to form a majority, forcing new elections.

Fresh elections look inevitable after Glauk Konjufca, the Vetevendosje party’s second proposal for prime minister, failed to get a majority of votes in parliament on Wednesday.

In a last-minute attempt by the winning party in the February elections to maintain power and prevent snap elections, Vetevendosje leader and acting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti nominated former speaker Glauk Konjufca to form a government.

Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to secure enough support in Kosovo's parliament to form a new government, plunging the country further into political chaos and bringing it closer to its second elections this year.

Warning of political deadlock and growing tensions, the top United Nations official in Kosovo stressed need for Belgrade and Pristina to “avoid measures that might erode trust”, as he briefed the Security Council via video link on the Secretary-General’s latest report on developments in the area.

Preliminary counts from Sunday’s municipal elections in Kosovo indicate that most major Albanian-majority municipalities – including Pristina, Peja/Pec, South Mitrovica and Prizren – are probably heading to a second round of voting after indecisive results across much of the country.

Kosovo Parliament Speaker, Dimal Basha, declared parliament inaugurated after the election of a Serb deputy speaker, despite objections by the biggest Serbian party.