Kosovo heads to a snap vote to end political deadlock

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Voters in Kosovo will cast their ballots in a second election this year in a bid to resolve a political deadlock that has threatened to push the small Balkan nation into a prolonged crisis.

The snap parliamentary vote on Sunday was scheduled after Prime Minister Albin Kurti's Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite winning the most votes at a Feb. 9 ballot.

The monthslong stalemate marked the first time that Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

Kurti’s party is again the favorite ahead of Sunday’s ballot, but it is unclear whether it will manage to muster a majority in the 120-member parliament.

Another inconclusive vote would further deepen the crisis.

The prolonged crisis means that Kosovo hasn’t approved a budget for next year, sparking fears of possible negative effects on the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.

Lawmakers are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani's mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.

Serbia still does not recognize Kosovo’s independence. Fears of renewed instability in the volatile Balkans have grown since Russia, an ally of Serbia, invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Self-Determination won around 42% of votes in February, while Kurti's main rivals, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Democratic Party of Kosovo jointly garnered around 40%.

Political analysts in Kosovo say that even a slight variation in numbers in voting on Sunday could prove decisive for the future distribution of power. Analyst Leart Hoxha predicted Kurti might be able to form a coalition with some of the minority parties if his own party's result improves on Sunday.

Otherwise, said Hoxha, “either a government is formed by the opposition parties and Self-Determination is left out, or we have a new election within a few months.”

Mainstream opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.

Kurti has urged Kosovo's 1.9 million voters to grant him another chance.

“We must achieve another victory that will ensure a rapid constitution of the national assembly and, at the same time, a stable government with a full mandate and over 50% of the votes,” he has said at an election rally.

The campaign has focused on Kosovo's stability and security, as well as perpetual economic woes.

Bedri Hamza, the former governor of the Kosovo National Bank from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, said: “Wherever I go, citizens tell me the same thing, that life has become too expensive, salaries are not enough, prices are rising every day.”

A former political prisoner during Serbia's rule in Kosovo, 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Belgrade and Pristina have been told they must first normalize relations.

Supporters of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) hold a victory sign poster during election rally in the town of Shtimje on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Leader of the PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo) Bedri Hamza speaks to supporters during election rally in the town of Ferizaj on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Leader of the VV (Selfdetermination) political party, Albin Kurti applauds during election rally in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Leader of the PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo) Bedri Hamza, center, aplauds at political candidates during election rally in the town of Ferizaj on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of armed combat along their border over competing claims to territory. It took effect at noon local time.

In addition to ending fighting, the agreement calls for no further military movements by either side and no violations of either side’s airspace for military purposes.

Only Thailand employed airstrikes in the fighting, hitting sites in Cambodia as recently as Saturday morning, according to the Cambodian defense ministry.

The deal also calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

The agreement was signed by the two countries’ defense ministers, Cambodia’s Tea Seiha and Thailand’s Nattaphon Narkphanit, at a checkpoint on their border after lower-level talks by military officials met for three days as part of the already-established General Border Committee.

The agreement declares that the two sides are committed to an earlier ceasefire that ended five days of fighting in July and follow-up agreements, and includes commitments to 16 de-escalation measures.

The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

Despite those deals, the two countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued, escalating in early December to widespread heavy fighting.

Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since Dec. 7, according to officials. Thailand has also reported 44 civilian deaths from collateral effects of the situation.

Cambodia hasn’t issued an official figure on military casualties, but says that 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas on both sides of the border.

Each side blamed the other for initiating the fighting and claimed to be acting in self-defense.

The agreement also calls on both sides to adhere to international agreements against deploying land mines, a major concern of Thailand. Thai soldiers along the border have been wounded in at least nine incidents this year by what they said were newly planted Cambodian mines. Cambodia says the mines were left over from decades of civil war that ended in the late 1990s.

Another clause says the two sides “agree to refrain from disseminating false information or fake news.”

The agreement also says previously established measures to demarcate the border will be resumed and the two sides also agree to cooperate on an effort to suppress transnational crimes.

That is primarily a reference to online scams perpetrated by organized crime that have bilked victims around the world of billions of dollars each year. Cambodia is a center for such criminal enterprises.

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha, left, stands with Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit, right, at the General Border Committee Meeting in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AKP via AP)

Illumination flares fired by Thai military forces shine in Poipet, Cambodia, as seen from Sa Kaeo, Thailand, on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, following clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

The Thai military fires artillery towards Cambodia, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, seen from Thailand's Sa Kaeo province. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha, left, stands with Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit, right, at the General Border Committee Meeting in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AKP via AP) g