Kosovo's governing party wins parliamentary election but without majority, preliminary results show

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Preliminary results showed that Prime Minister Albin Kurti ’s party won Kosovo's parliamentary election Sunday but without the majority needed to govern alone, as talks on normalizing ties with rival Serbia remain stalled and foreign funding for one of Europe's poorest countries is in question.

With 73% of the votes counted, Kurti’s leftist Self-Determination Movement Party, or Vetevendosje!, won 41.99% which doesn't give it the majority needed to govern alone, leaving open the possibility the other three contenders could join ranks if he fails to form a Cabinet.

The other challengers are the Democratic Party of Kosovo, or PDK, whose main leaders are detained at an international criminal tribunal at The Hague accused of war crimes, which won 22.68% of the vote. Next with 17.9% support is the Democratic League of Kosovo, or LDK, the oldest party in the country which lost much of its support after the death in 2006 of its leader, Ibrahim Rugova. The third contender is the Alliance for Kosovo’s Future of former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj with 7.56%.

“The people won. Vetevendosje! won. We are the winning subject who is to form the next Cabinet,” Kurti told journalists while groups of celebrating supporters.

Voting ended at 7 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) “without problems that could violate its integrity,” according to Central Election Commission Valmir Elezi.

The commission's webpage was down temporarily as it was overloaded “due to the citizens' high interest to learn the results at the platform,” according to the commission, the main election body.

A preliminary turnout after 92% of the votes counted was 40.59, or 7% lower than four years ago.

The parties made big-ticket pledges to increase public salaries and pensions, improve education and health services, and fight poverty. However, they did not explain where the money would come from, nor how they would attract more foreign investment.

Kurti has been at odds with Western powers since his Cabinet took several steps that raised tensions with Serbia and ethnic Serbs, including the ban on the use of the Serbian currency and dinar transfers from Serbia to Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority that depends on Belgrade’s social services and payments. The U.S., the European Union and the NATO-led stabilization force KFOR have urged the government in Pristina to refrain from unilateral actions, fearing the revival of inter-ethnic conflict.

This is the first time since independence in 2008 that Kosovo’s parliament has completed a full four-year mandate. It is the ninth parliamentary vote in Kosovo since the end of the 1998-1999 war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists that pushed Serbian forces out following a 78-day NATO air campaign. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

The vote will determine who will lead the Kosovo in negotiations with Serbia, which stalled again last year.

The EU has suspended funding for some projects and set conditions for their gradual resumption, linked to Kosovo taking steps to de-escalate tensions in the north, where most of the Serb minority lives.

Kosovo is also suffering after Washington imposed a 90-day freeze on funding for different projects through the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been key in promoting the country’s growth.

Some 2 million eligible voters will elect 120 lawmakers from 1,280 candidates from 27 political groupings. One independent candidate is also running. The Kosovar parliament has 20 seats reserved for minorities regardless of election results, 10 of which are for the Serb minority.

“I encourage all the citizens of Kosovo to use this opportunity to decide on the next four years,” Kurti said after casting his ballot.

There have been sporadic violent incidents. Prosecutors said they detained eight people for trying to influence voters. Police said the “electoral process passed on quietly and without serious incidents.”

Kosovars abroad started voting Saturday at 43 diplomatic missions. Some 20,000 voters from the diaspora of nearly 100,000 were casting ballots, with the rest voting by mail.

Although crucial for the region's stability, negotiations with Serbia have not figured prominently on any party’s agenda.

”What can we do? We were born here. Our graves are here. It will be better, I hope. We have to come out and vote. That is our duty,” Mileva Kovacevic, a Serb resident in northern Mitrovica, said.

Kosovo, with a population of 1.6 million, is one of the poorest countries in Europe with an annual gross domestic product of less than 6,000 euros per person.

KFOR increased its presence in Kosovo after last year’s tensions with Serbia as well as for the election.

A team of 100 observers from the EU, 18 from the Council of Europe and about 1,600 others from international or local organizations will monitor the vote.

Associated Press writer Vojislav Stjepanovic contributed to this report.

Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani waits in line before casting her ballot during parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani casts her ballot during parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Albin Kurti, President of the left-wing Vetevendosje! party, leaves a voting station as Kosovo holds a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Albin Kurti, President of the left-wing Vetevendosje! party, makes statements outside a voting station as Kosovo holds a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Lumir Abdixhiku, Leader of Democratic League of Kosovo party, casts his ballot during parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Albin Kurti, President of the left-wing Vetevendosje! party, prepares to cast his ballot as Kosovo holds a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Albin Kurti, President of the left-wing Vetevendosje! party, arrives to vote as Kosovo holds a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Albin Kurti, President of the left-wing Vetevendosje! party, casts his ballot as Kosovo holds a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

A man casts his ballot for a parliamentary election at a polling station in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

European Union election observers watch a voter at a polling station during a parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter waits for a ballot during a parliamentary election at a polling station in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People wait in front of a polling station for a parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A man prepares his ballot for a parliamentary election at a polling station in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People wait in line during a parliamentary election at a polling station in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

An electoral committee member prepares a voting station for a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

A woman is checked by a member of an electoral committee during a parliamentary election in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Argentina didn’t miss Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez and other key players on Friday and beat Uruguay away 1-0 in convincing fashion in their South American World Cup qualifying match.

Thiago Almada scored the winner with a powerful curled shot from the edge of the box, putting the defending champions one point away from its direct spot in the tournament next year.

Argentina leads the round robin competition with 28 points after 13 matches, and could secure its place with a home draw with Brazil on Tuesday. The team of coach Lionel Scaloni already has 15 points ahead of 7th-placed Bolivia, with only five rounds to the end of the competition.

The last time the two soccer powerhouses clashed, Argentina won 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier, Ecuador defeated Venezuela 2-1 and moved into second place in South American World Cup, edging close to reaching the tournament once again.

Brazil is third with 21 points, one ahead of Uruguay and Paraguay. Colombia, with 19 points, has the sixth position.

The top six teams will secure direct berths to the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The seventh-place team among the 10 of the region will still have a chance to qualify through an international playoff.

Argentina had to accommodate key absences beyond Messi. Lautaro Martínez, Lisandro Martínez, and Rodrigo De Paul did not play in Montevideo. So coach Lionel Scaloni gave a place to Giuliano Simeone in the starting lineup, with Julián Álvarez and Thiago Almada up front.

Uruguay, playing in a full Centenario Stadium against its archrival, took the initiative and had the clearest chances in the first half. But Argentina managed to hold its ground and started getting the better opportunities after halftime.

Almada's goal in the 68th minute, after Argentina had wasted several other opportunities in front of goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, still didn't push Uruguay forward as Marcelo Bielsa's team finished the match with only four shots on goal.

Argentina's Nico González will miss the match against Brazil. He was sent off after a challenge against Nahitan Nández in injury time.

Brazil has selection problems of its own for Tuesday's match at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium, as starting goalkeeper Alisson, defender Gabriel Magalhães and midfielder Bruno Guimarães are all ineligible to play.

Enner Valencia, Ecuador's all-time top goal-scorer, added another two to his tally on Friday.

The striker broke through the Venezuelan defense in the 39th minute and scored with a powerful right-footed shot from an acute angle. In the first minute of the second half, he added the second after a run on the left flank ended in a classy poach over goalkeeper Rafael Romo.

Valencia could have had a third from the spot in the 69th but he missed it.

Jhonder Cádiz scored for Venezuela in injury time.

Venezuela has not won for nine straight games and remains in eighth place. The team still has a chance of qualifying for the first time in history.

Ecuador started the competition with a three-point deficit due to fielding Byron Castillo, who was actually Colombian and ineligible to play in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Now it is close to returning to the tournament in with a steady, confident squad.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Uruguay and Argentina players argue during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Santiago Mazzarovich)

Argentina's Thiago Almada celebrates scoring his side's first goal against Uruguay during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Santiago Mazzarovich)

Uruguay's Maximiliano Araujo, left, and Argentina's Nahuel Molina battle for the ball during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Santiago Mazzarovich)

Venezuela's Jhonder Cadiz, left, celebrates scoring his side's first goal against Ecuador during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Patricio Teran)

Ecuador players celebrate after their teammate Enner Valencia scores his side's opening goal against Venezuela during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Patricio Teran)

Ecuador's Enner Valencia celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against Venezuela during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Patricio Teran)