The battle for the diaspora vote

Political parties in Kosovo have shifted their activities beyond their borders, turning the diaspora into one of the main fronts of the electoral battle. Mobilizing meetings in Switzerland, party organizations in Norway and direct calls for participation in the vote, according to analysts, indicate that the diaspora vote is being seen as a key factor in the December 28 race.

Political parties have intensified their activities abroad, with a special focus on the diaspora, a few days before the official electoral campaign begins. The early elections on December 28, scheduled during a period when expatriates are traditionally on vacation in Kosovo, have increased the parties' commitment to securing their vote, considered increasingly strategic in the electoral race.

Mobilizing meetings and calls for active participation took place last weekend in the main centers of the Albanian diaspora in Europe, especially in Switzerland and Norway. The election campaign officially starts on December 17th.

Kurti in Switzerland: Diaspora as a "force for development"

The leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement and acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, held a meeting with the diaspora in Zurich, Switzerland, where the focus of his speech was the role of the diaspora in the development of Kosovo. He portrayed the diaspora as an active political and economic factor.

"The diaspora is not an emotional reserve, it is a force for development. The Kosovo government sees the diaspora as a partner and not as a spectator. The vast majority of what you do is undoubtedly not recognized and is not known enough, so you are those silent heroes of peace who elevate both the state of Kosovo and the entire Albanian nation," Kurti said.

The meeting in Switzerland is seen as part of Vetëvendosje's effort to revive the spirit of 2021, when the diaspora vote had a significant impact on the election result.

LDK seeks "return of hope" from the diaspora

In the same country, but with a different political narrative, the Democratic League of Kosovo has also held meetings with compatriots. The leader of the LDK and candidate for prime minister, Lumir Abdixhiku, was welcomed by party supporters in Switzerland, where, according to the official statement, a wide turnout from different cantons was noted.

"Mayor Abdixhiku thanked the diaspora for their continuous contribution over the years and emphasized that their support is crucial at this key moment for the future of Kosovo. He called for commitment, mobilization and strong support from our diaspora in Switzerland and around the world, underlining that Kosovo today needs unity, hope and concrete action more than ever," the LDK statement reads. 

PDK consolidates structures in Norway

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Kosovo on Sunday, in Oslo, officially formed its branch in Norway, by electing the leadership structures. Arsim Avdija was elected as the head of the branch, who declared that his mission will be to build a Kosovo of stability, development and hope. The rally was also greeted by the Secretary General of the PDK, Vlora Çitaku, who called on supporters for maximum mobilization in support of the candidate for prime minister, Bedri Hamza.

But political entities will not be able to hold party rallies in all European countries, where Kosovo has a large diaspora.

The German Embassy in Kosovo issued a notice a few days ago to candidates for prime minister and political entities, reminding them that organizing election rallies on German territory is not permitted less than three months before elections are held in their country.

Since the snap elections will be held on December 28, this means that there cannot be any rallies in Germany, one of the countries where the Kosovar diaspora is most concentrated.

"Since we have a large Kosovo diaspora in Germany, we would like to remind all candidates that, as a rule, election campaign events by foreign officials in Germany are not permitted in the period less than 3 months before the elections. Thank you for your understanding," the embassy said in a statement last week.

"Non-determining factor"

According to diaspora analyst Lulzim Veliu, the increased activities of political parties are directly related to the fact that the elections are being held at a favorable time for expatriates. He adds that the Vetëvendosje Movement is trying to recreate the spirit of the 2021 vote.

"It is more than true that in the last few days there have been meetings with compatriots from representatives of political entities who are interested in receiving the diaspora vote since the election date itself has been set during a period when expatriates are on vacation. In this way, they are trying to get as much of the diaspora vote as possible. It seems to me that the ruling party, the Vetëvendosje Movement, is trying to once again create a spirit of voting for them as it was in 2021, the year when the big change was made precisely with the diaspora vote," Veliu said.

"As is known, the number of voters who have registered to vote is smaller than in previous elections, but it is expected that there will be a larger number of those who will travel to Kosovo and in this way get as many votes as possible from the diaspora. However, other political entities have not missed this, especially the Democratic Party but also the Democratic League, which is active in many countries in the West."

However, Veliu estimates that the diaspora will not be the main determining factor in the election result. According to his calculations, the diaspora vote could influence the election of two to three MPs and that it will give more of a "final decision" than the general direction of the Assembly.

"I think that in the past elections and in every election that has been held in Kosovo, there has been a large number of those who have come to vote directly in Kosovo, but the largest number was in 2021 when there were also bus and free organizations for expatriates to vote. I do not think that the Kosovo Assembly, that is, who will be in the assembly, will be determined by the Kosovo diaspora. The diaspora will only give the final decision since the largest vote is in Kosovo and the Kosovo voters themselves will be the ones who will decide. According to all calculations, the diaspora can affect two or three deputies or a maximum of eight deputies in the Kosovo Assembly. Unlike previous times, I think that this time the diaspora vote will be distributed to all subjects proportionally, just like the voter in Kosovo," he said.

Most critical, according to Veliu, remains the lack of concrete offers for the diaspora.

"To be honest, no one is making any concrete offers for the diaspora. We are disappointed that so far no great interest has been shown or concrete steps have been taken to help the diaspora. I say this myself, being active with a non-governmental organization - we have addressed not only the last government but also the previous ones with requests. Not that  "They have not been implemented, but in many cases we have not even had a response from them. The same thing has happened with the entity that is in power today, the Vetevendosje Movement, who previously promised a lot that they would be on the side of the diaspora, but so far they have not taken any concrete action for the diaspora, except for the possibility of voting in embassies and consulates, which suits them more than anyone else," he emphasized when mentioning the problems faced by the diaspora.

"Except for some areas where supplementary education is directly funded by the German state, we have many other areas where immigrant children do not even have the opportunity to learn the ABC in supplementary education."  "So this should be the first and most important step for the diaspora, to continue towards the opportunity for members of the diaspora to vote and have reserved seats in the Kosovo Assembly," he said.

Delays in sending ballots, mailboxes in 23 different states

The Central Election Commission announced on Monday that in order to facilitate the voting process outside Kosovo, mailboxes in 23 different countries are operational for voters registered to vote by mail.

Postboxes are functional in: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Canada, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, United Kingdom, Norway, USA, Albania, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey and Switzerland.

On December 14, two days after the scheduled deadline, the CEC began the process of sending ballot packages to approximately 58 voters registered abroad for postal voting in the early elections for the Assembly of Kosovo. The deadline was missed because the ballot printing process was completed on Friday.

"The ballots, which were printed in Slovenia, arrived in Kosovo on Friday, December 12, and after that, the CEC voting service prepared individual packages for each registered voter. Each postal delivery was assigned a unique tracking number and sent to registered voters, who can continuously see the location of the package with the ballot," the CEC statement reads.

Meanwhile, over 19 thousand citizens have registered to vote at diplomatic missions.

With the amended election law, there are three ways to vote from abroad: sending the ballot package by mail to boxes abroad, to the CEC address within Kosovo, and physical voting at diplomatic missions.

Voting by mail ends on December 27, 2025. Packages must be delivered to one of the CEC mailboxes in the state where voters live, or to the nearest mailbox. “The CEC encourages registered voters to do this as soon as possible, so that the package arrives in time at the mailbox from where it will be withdrawn and sent to Kosovo for the counting process,” the CEC said.

Civil society said last week that such delays could deny part of the diaspora the right to vote.

The diaspora vote has dominated the topic in recent weeks following the decision of the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Submissions to cancel 10 Alternative Voting Centers, following a complaint from the Democratic League of Kosovo. 

The Vetëvendosje Movement appealed the ECAP decision to the Supreme Court, but this instance also rejected the appeal, leaving the ECAP decision in force.

The trend of diaspora votes has increased in the last three elections. From 5,201 votes in 2017, in 2019 there were 19,789, in 2021 there were 56,375, and nearly 80,000 for the February 9 elections of this year, 2025.

In the 2021 elections, Vetëvendosje received nearly 44 votes from abroad, or 80 percent of votes cast by mail.