Kosovo Holds Third Parliamentary Election Amid Stalemate

Kosovo is holding a parliamentary election on Sunday, the country's third in 18 months, as a prolonged political deadlock over electing a president continues to paralyze its institutions. The early vote was scheduled after the main political parties failed to agree on a successor to former President Vjosa Osmani by a March deadline.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti's center-left Vetëvendosje party has held a clear parliamentary majority since the last election in December. However, Kosovo's constitution requires a two-thirds majority, or at least 80 votes in the 120-seat Parliament, to appoint a president, a threshold neither Kurti's bloc nor the opposition could reach. This stalemate has left the nation without a fully functioning government for much of the past year, following an inconclusive first election in February 2025 that forced the December vote.

The impasse has fueled widespread frustration among Kosovo's approximately 2 million voters, who want leaders to focus on the struggling economy and living standards. Kosovo is one of Europe's youngest and poorest countries, and the institutional vacuum has delayed access to European Union funds and complicated its EU membership...