2019 Kosovan parliamentary election

2019 Kosovan parliamentary election

6 October 2019
All 120 seats in the Assembly 61 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	44.59% ( 3.43pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Vetëvendosje Albin Kurti 26.27 29 −3 LDK Vjosa Osmani 24.55 28 +5 PDK Kadri Veseli 21.23 24 +1 AAK–PSD Ramush Haradinaj 11.51 13 +3 Serb List Goran Rakić 6.40 10 +1 NISMA–AKR–PD Fatmir Limaj 5.00 6 −4 Vakat Rasim Demiri 0.84 2 0 KDTP Mahir Yağcılar 0.81 2 0 PLE Veton Beriša 0.58 1 0 NDS Emilija Redžepi 0.47 1 0 PAI Etem Arifi 0.37 1 0 IRDK Elbert Krasniqi 0.21 1 +1 JGP Adem Hodža 0.14 1 0 PREBK Albert Kinolli 0.13 1 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by each municipality;   LVV   LDK   SL   PDK   AAK   NISMA   KDTP Prime Minister before Appointed Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj AAK Albin Kurti Vetëvendosje

Parliamentary elections were held in Kosovo on 6 October 2019. The main opposition parties received the most votes, led by Vetëvendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti became Prime Minister, forming a governing coalition with the LDK on an anti-corruption platform. He is the second Prime Minister not to have been a fighter of the Kosovo Liberation Army during the 1990s.

Background

On 19 July 2019 Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned after being summoned for questioning by the KSC in The Hague, Netherlands.^[1] The constitution requires the President to designate a new candidate to either form a government, or hold new elections in between 30 and 45 days after consultation with political parties or coalitions who hold a majority in the Assembly.

On 2 August 2019, President Hashim Thaçi asked the PANA Coalition to propose a new candidate to form a coalition government. However, other political parties opposed the move.^[2]

On 5 August 2019, the Assembly of Kosovo agreed to hold an extraordinary session on 22 August, planning to disband itself so that elections could be scheduled.^[3] Subsequently, on 22 August 2019, MPs voted to dissolve parliament, with 89 of the 120 voting in favour, necessitating elections within 30–45 days.^[4]

Electoral system

The 120 members of the Assembly are elected by open list proportional representation, with 20 seats reserved for national minorities.^[5] An electoral threshold of 5% was in place for non-minority parties.

Parties and coalitions

On 7 September the Election Commission published the official list of the 25 participating parties and coalitions.^[6]

Party	Candidate for Prime Minister	Votes received by the candidate for PM
Vetëvendosje (VV) Alternativa (Candidates run inside VV list)[7]	Albin Kurti (VV)	183 952 (VV)
Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) PSHDK (Candidates run inside LDK list)[8]	Vjosa Osmani (LDK)	176 016 (LDK)
Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Movement for Unification (Candidates run inside PDK list)	Kadri Veseli (PDK)	145 881 (PDK)
100% Kosovo (AAK - PSD Coalition)[9] Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSD)	Ramush Haradinaj (AAK)	76 163 (AAK)
NISMA - AKR - PD Coalition[10] NISMA New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) Justice Party (PD)[11]	Fatmir Limaj (NISMA)	25 918 (NISMA)
The Word (Fjala)[6]	Gëzim Kelmendi
Euroatlantic Party of Kosovo (PEK)[6]	Milaim Zeka
Independent (Esmir Rasi)[6]	Esmir Rasi
Serbian parties (10 seats reserved)
Serb List
Independent Liberal Party (SLS)
Serb Coalition (Sloboda)[12] Progressive Democratic Party (PDS) European Movement of Serbs in Kosovo New Kosovo Party
Party of Kosovo Serbs (PKS)[6]
Other minority parties (10 seats reserved)
Romani, Ashkali and Egyptians	4 seats reserved
United Roma Party of Kosovo (PREBK)
Kosovar New Romani Party (KNRP)
Ashkali Party for Integration (PAI)
Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo (PDAK)
Egyptian Liberal Party (PLE)
New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo (IRDK)
Bosniaks	3 seats reserved
Vakat Coalition
Bosniak Party of Democratic Action of Kosovo (SDA)
New Democratic Party (NDS)
Turks	2 seats reserved
Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo (KDTP)
Gorans	1 seat reserved
Civic Initiative of Gora (GIG)
Unique Gorani Party (JGP)
Movement for Gora (PG)

Opinion polls

Coalitions

Pollster	Date	PDK	AAK PSD	NISMA AKR PD	LDK	LV	Other	Lead	Abstention
PIPOS	Exit Poll- 6 Oct	25.8	12.3	5.8	27.9	28.1	–	0.2	-
Klan Kosova	Exit Poll- 6 Oct	22.28	10.58	4.41	30	30	–	Tie	-
SS	4 Oct	19	11	4	32	28	–	4	-

Parties

Pollster	Date	PDK	AAK	NISMA	LDK	AKR	A	LV	PSD	SL	Other	Lead	Abstention
NDI	25 Apr	16	17	–	25	–	–	20	–	–	–	5	-
IPSP	2 Apr	16.1	12.1	5.3	21.2	1.6	0.2	19.7	2.2	1.1	–	1.5	-
PIPOS	1–2 Feb	26	14	5	24	3	1	19	3	-	1	2	-
2019
UBO Consulting	11–18 Dec	20.5	12.6	6.3	27.1	-	-	22.6	-	-	10.9	4.5	-
IFIMES	19–28 Sep	22.9	10.1	5.2	28.3	1.6	0.6	23.1	2.2	-	6	5.2	-
KDI	25 Aug–5 Sep	18.4	8.8	4.9	23.8	1.7	0.6	17.6	2	4.1	2.6	5.4	15.6
KDI	10–5 Jun	23	10.4	6.3	30.8	-	-	21.2	2.4	2	4.1	7.8	-
2018
2017 election	11 Jun 2017	33.74			25.53			27.49		6.12	7.12	6.25	-

Results

The initial results showed that the pro-government NISMA–AKR–PD alliance fell only a few hundred votes short of meeting the 5% electoral threshold and lost all 10 of their seats. However, the Kosovo Election Complaints and Appeals Panel subsequently ordered around 3,782 votes originating in Serbia to be removed from the vote count as they had been delivered by Serbian officials rather than by post.^[13] The removed votes allowed the NISMA-led alliance to cross the threshold and win six seats, a reduction of four from the prior election. Vetëvendosje and the Independent Liberal Party (which lost its parliamentary representation) were the only other parties to see a reduction in their seat totals. The Democratic League of Kosovo, Democratic Party of Kosovo, AAK–PSD alliance and the Serb List all gained seats. Voter turnout was around 45%.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Vetëvendosje	221,001	26.27	29	–5
	Democratic League of Kosovo	206,516	24.55	28	+5
	Democratic Party of Kosovo	178,637	21.23	24	+1
	100% Kosovo (AAK–PSD)	96,872	11.51	13	+3
	Serb List	53,861	6.40	10	+1
	NISMA–AKR–PD	42,083	5.00	6	–4
	Vakat Coalition	7,075	0.84	2	0
	Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo	6,788	0.81	2	0
	Egyptian Liberal Party	4,887	0.58	1	0
	New Democratic Party	3,935	0.47	1	0
	Ashkali Party for Integration	3,113	0.37	1	0
	Fjala	2,852	0.34	0	0
	Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo	1,963	0.23	0	–1
	Independent Liberal Party	1,859	0.22	0	–1
	New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo	1,755	0.21	1	+1
	Euroatlantic Party of Kosovo	1,173	0.14	0	New
	Unique Gorani Party	1,159	0.14	1	0
	United Roma Party of Kosovo	1,078	0.13	1	0
	Bosniak Party of Democratic Action of Kosovo	834	0.10	0	0
	Party of Kosovo Serbs	816	0.10	0	0
	Civic Initiative of Gora	785	0.09	0	0
	Movement for Gora	695	0.08	0	0
	Serb Coalition (Sloboda)	672	0.08	0	New
	Kosovar New Romani Party	289	0.03	0	0
	Independents	577	0.07	0	New
Total		841,275	100.00	120	0
Valid votes		841,275	96.20
Invalid/blank votes		33,271	3.80
Total votes		874,546	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,961,213	44.59
Source: KQZ, KQZ, KQZ

Aftermath

After the election, Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti formed a coalition with the LDK. However, the government collapsed on 25 March following a motion of no confidence.^[14] Following the vote, the LDK formed a new government with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the Social Democratic Initiative and the Serb List. However, due to the Constitutional Court's ruling and a deputy's conviction, the government collapsed again and another election will be held within 40 days starting from 22 December.^[15][16]

References

1. Shehu, Bekim (2019-07-19). "Kosovë: Ramush Haradinaj jep dorëheqje të parevokueshme". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
2. Zyrtare: Thaçi i kërkon koalicionit PAN propozim-mandatarin e ri për kryeministër Bota Sot, 2 August 2019
3. "Kosovo parliament to disband so early election can be held". Associated Press. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
4. "Nga seanca plenare e Kuvendit". Kuvendi i Kosovës. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
5. Kosovo IFES
6. "Këto janë subjektet politike që mund t'i votoni më 6 tetor". GazetaExpress. 2019-07-09. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
7. "Kusari: Me VV-në kemi dallime, por jemi të fokusuar në atë se çfarë na bashkon". GazetaExpress. 2019-07-09. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
8. "Kjo parti i bashkohet listës zgjedhore të LDK'së". GazetaExpress. 2019-02-09. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
9. "Kosovo parties sign first pre-election coalition". GazetaExpress. 2019-08-19. Archived from the original on 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
10. "Pacolli and Limaj sign pre-election coalition". GazetaExpress. 2019-08-23. Archived from the original on 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
11. "Nisma dhe AKR arrijnë marrëveshje edhe me një parti tjetër". GazetaExpress. 2019-08-27. Archived from the original on 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
12. "Bashkohen serbët e Kosovës për zgjedhje kundër Listës Srpska". GazetaExpress. 2019-08-28. Archived from the original on 2019-08-28. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
13. Election: over 3,700 votes from Serbia removed from final count Prishtina Insight, 14 November 2019
14. Walker, Shaun (26 March 2020). "Kosovans look on aghast as government falls while coronavirus bites". The Guardian.
15. "Kosovo to hold early election as top court ruling topples government". TRT World. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
16. "Kosovo Heading For Fresh Elections After High Court Rules Parliament Vote For Government Was Illegal". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 22 December 2020.