Self-determination takes everything.

The Vetëvendosje Movement has achieved a convincing victory in Sunday's snap elections. According to the preliminary results of the Central Election Commission, the LVV has the largest increase with 49.3 percent of the vote or 429 thousand 979 votes, 7 percent more compared to the February 9 elections, without counting the votes from the diaspora, conditional votes and those of people with special needs. This result enables it to form the only government, with non-Serb non-majority communities. In second place is the PDK with 21,01 percent, while the Democratic League has suffered the largest decline, falling below 14 percent

With a turnout of 44.59 percent, the Vetëvendosje Movement emerged as the leading force with 49.3 percent of the votes in Sunday's elections.

According to the preliminary results of the Central Election Commission, LVV recorded the largest increase, winning over 49 percent of the votes or around 430 thousand votes. An increase compared to the elections of February 9 this year, when VV won 396 thousand 787 votes or 42,30 percent.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) came in second with 21,01 percent or 183,258 votes, a result roughly similar to that of February, or an increase of 1 percent. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) recorded the largest decline compared to the February 9 elections, receiving 13,56 percent of the votes, or 116,224 votes. In the elections at the beginning of the year, the LDK received 171,357 or 18,27 percent.  

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), based on preliminary results, has managed to cross the electoral threshold with 5,68 percent or 49,571 votes.

The Social Democratic Initiative failed to break the threshold, falling below it with only 1,72 percent of the votes.

The Serbian List, the largest Serbian party, has declared that it has secured all ten seats reserved for the Serbian community. The leader of the List, Zlatan Ellek, said in a press conference that the party he leads has received 90 percent of the votes of the Serbian community and all the seats in the Assembly. Rašić's party has so far received 4388 votes, or more than 11 percent of the votes that went to parties of the Serbian community. Rašić had also secured a seat in the February elections. As the only MP from his party, he was elected deputy speaker by the Serbian community after the majority in the ninth legislature refused to vote on the proposals from the Serbian List.

LVV with 56 mandates, on its way to forming the government alone

Translated into mandates, the Vetëvendosje Movement with just under 50 percent of the vote has secured 56 seats in the Assembly.

With the calculation according to the “D'Hondt” formula, the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21 percent of the vote has 23 seats. The Democratic League has 15 seats, while the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo has secured 6 seats.

Compared to the February elections, the Vetëvendosje Movement has increased its number of seats in the Assembly by eight, from 48.

Meanwhile, PDK lost one seat. LDK lost five seats, out of 20 it had. AAK in coalition with Nisma had 8 seats. This calculation does not include votes cast by mail and those cast in diplomatic missions.

The remaining 20 seats are divided into 10 for the Serbian community and 10 for other communities. 61 votes are necessary to elect the Speaker of the Assembly and then vote on the government.

The Vetëvendosje Movement has also come out on top in most of the country's municipalities. It has been confirmed as the main force in 24 municipalities, including those considered strongholds of opposition parties.

It is first in Gjakova, Gjilan, Dragash, Istog, Kaçanik, Klina, Fushë-Kosovo, Kamenicë, South Mitrovica, Lipjan, Obiliq, Rahovec, Peja, Podujevo, Prishtina, Prizren, Shtime, Suhareka, Ferizaj, Viti, Vushtrri, Malisheva, Junik and Hani i Elezit. The Democratic Party of Kosovo is first in Drenas and Skenderaj. In Deçan, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo came first, while in Mamushë the KDPT came first.

The parliamentary elections of December 28th have made history in terms of citizen turnout at polling stations within Kosovo. 899,521 citizens exercised their right to vote, not counting votes from the diaspora, conditional votes, and those of people with special needs.

In percentage terms, it appears that approximately 45 percent of those eligible to vote exercised their right to vote. The record for participation in the elections was set on February 9 this year. At that time, 871,662 voters had voted in polling stations in Kosovo. Meanwhile, together with the votes of the diaspora and those in representation, the number had reached 966,000 votes.

Kurti: We will create institutions quickly, I expect cooperation with the opposition

From the Vetëvendosje headquarters, the candidate for the third governing mandate, Albin Kurti, addressed the citizens as the winner of the elections, saying that they are on their way to breaking the record of February 21, 2021.

"On February 9, the Vetëvendosje Movement won, on December 28, the people and the Republic of Kosovo won. Congratulations on the greatest victory in the history of the country," he said.

Kurti further stated that once the results are certified, institutions will be established and work will continue. He mentioned international agreements, saying that he expects cooperation with opposition parties to advance them, and thanked them for the election campaign.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us. We must move forward, without delay. As soon as the results are certified, we will need to create institutions and continue the good work as soon as possible. We are waiting for the EU Growth Plan worth 880 million euros and three agreements with the World Bank worth 120 million. So over 1 billion. I invite the opposition parties from now on to cooperate in the Parliament for international agreements, good agreements and for the public interest of citizens", declared Kurti.

He was also asked about the issue of the country's president after Vjosa Osmani's mandate expires in March next year.

Kurti said that this will also need to be discussed with the opposition. But he previously stated that he will also meet with the current president, Vjosa Osmani.

"We also need to talk to the opposition about the issue of the president. First, we will sit down with the current president and then we will take the next steps in order to move forward together because it is known that both for international agreements and for the election of the president, at least 80 MPs must remain in the hall even if they vote against. This is the third step," Kurti said.

The leader of Vetëvendosje also participated in the celebration with supporters of this party, where he said that the victory of December 28 belongs to the people of Kosovo, unlike that of February 9 when VV won with its coalition partners.

"This time, the people and the Republic have won, our vision and program made the victory possible. We will fulfill all our commitments one by one. You are the meaning of the existence of our positions and functions," Kurti said, promising to fulfill the commitments made during the election campaign.

Unlike Kurti, who spoke about cooperation with the opposition, there was no shortage of ridicule from the partners who were in coalition with LVV after the results of Sunday's elections. The mayor of Mitrovica, who is also co-chair of the Guxo List, Faton Peci, took issue with the LDK, reminding it of its refusal to enter into a coalition with VV after the February 9 elections.

"Come to the government, no we don't want it, come on, no we don't want it. Go ahead then," Peci said in a video.

Abdixhiku takes responsibility for the result, does not rule out resignation

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, took responsibility for the outcome of the December 28 elections in an appearance shortly before midnight on Sunday. He announced that in the coming days he will convene the party's Assembly to review all issues and responsibilities as leader.

He stated that the LDK's result is not what they expected and this will be a moment of reflection, adding that he respects the verdict of the citizens.

"Taking responsibility, in the coming days I will call the LDK Assembly and before it we will disclose and examine all the issues and responsibilities that I hold as chairman. The LDK result is not what we expected and desired. It is a moment of reflection. When citizens speak, we must listen. Democracy works when leaders are held accountable, even when they have such losses," said Abdixhiku, not ruling out resignation.

He further stated that in these five years of leading the LDK, he has acted as he believed was best for the party.

"These five years, I have acted as I believed was best for the LDK. However, today I openly say that I have not managed to take the LDK to where it should be. We have built a good team, we have built a dignified campaign, but this is the citizen's verdict and we bow before it. The citizen is always right," he added.

Abdixhiku also congratulated the winner of the elections, Albin Kurti.

"Let me congratulate the winner. The state is above each of us. Let's hope that the citizens have chosen correctly this time," he declared.

After the fall of the LDK, there has been no shortage of calls within their camp for reflection.

Arben Gashi, candidate for deputy of the Democratic League of Kosovo, has called for responsible actions, following the first results of the December 28 elections.

"When voters speak, the result cannot be ignored. Reflection and responsible action are required," Gashi wrote on Facebook.

And former Democratic League of Kosovo MP Jehona Lushaku-Sadriu has called on the party's voters to keep their heads high.

"To all today's LDK voters: keep your heads up! I love you!" she wrote.

AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj, through a statement after the ballot boxes closed, said that they have 8 percent or 9 seats in the Assembly, adding that the coalition with PDK and LDK is failing.

"AAK has not set and does not set conditions for the opposition. But now is the time to reflect. From us, both parties have a partner and we are ready to cooperate and give them a majority," he said.

There was no statement from the PDK camp, which emerged as the second party, after the results.

Quiet and without incident

The entire voting process since the opening of the polling stations at 07:00 has flowed in a calm atmosphere, with some irregularities mainly of a procedural and technical nature. Power outages have been reported in some polling centers, but there have been no serious incidents that could compromise the integrity of the elections.

In addition to calls for people to vote, President Vjosa Osmani, after casting her vote in the capital, said that she hopes for the establishment of institutions as soon as possible.

According to her, the December 28 elections should result in the rapid formation of the Parliament and government, in order to advance necessary processes for the country.

"I hope that our Republic will have peaceful, orderly, democratic elections. I hope that we will have elections with the most massive participation of citizens. Elections are an important democratic process. I hope that the results will result in the earliest possible establishment of a parliament and elections of a government, which are necessary for important internal and international processes for Kosovo," the president said.

According to the Kosovo Police, the implementation of the plan and inter-institutional cooperation and coordination have contributed to the process on Sunday going without any major incidents.

"The implementation of the police plan, inter-institutional cooperation and coordination has had a positive impact on the entire electoral process passing peacefully and without any major incident that would have hindered or violated the electoral process, therefore, in terms of security, it is assessed that the electoral process passed peacefully and without serious incidents. One of the goals of the police operational plan was to guarantee a peaceful environment for voting, initiate and prosecute any possible criminal offense in coordination with the justice authorities, and bring before the justice authorities all those who violate the law, specifically violate the electoral process," the police statement said.

Also, in coordination with the State Prosecution, the Kosovo Police has announced that it has initiated five criminal cases.

"The Kosovo Police, in cooperation and coordination with the State Prosecution Office, regarding the electoral process, today initiated 5 (five) criminal cases such as; 'Violation of the secrecy of voting', 'Violation of the free determination of voters', 'Obstruction of the voting process' and 'Destruction of voting documents', where the persons involved in the cases by decision of the competent prosecutors have been released in regular procedure. 30 (thirty) pieces of information have been processed and in 5 (five) cases they have been recorded with an 'official note', the police announcement states.

Also, in cooperation and coordination with the justice bodies, other cases have been handled and initiated, cases that are not related to the electoral process.

The State Prosecutor announced in a statement that in the early national elections of December 28, no person was detained for criminal offenses.

According to the announcement, information was received and after verification, until the end of the voting process, it was found that only five of them present elements of a criminal offense against voting rights.

"The first case was initiated in the village of Ranillug - Gjilan, for the criminal offense under Article 210 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo: "Violation of the free determination of voters", where the suspect was released by decision of the prosecutor in the regular procedure. The second case was initiated in Zhegër - Gjilan, for the criminal offenses under Articles 214 and 215 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo: "Obstruction of the voting process" and "Violation of the secrecy of voting", where the suspect was released by decision of the prosecutor in the regular procedure. The third case was initiated in Prizren, for the criminal offense under Article: 217 "Destruction of voting documents", where the suspect was released by decision of the prosecutor in the regular procedure. The fourth case was initiated in Drenas, for the criminal offense under Article: 215 "Violation of the secrecy of voting", where the suspect was released by decision of the prosecutor in the regular procedure. The case of The fifth was initiated for "Violation of the secrecy of voting" in Suhareka," the State Prosecutor's announcement states.

The Ranilug case is related to the suspicion that the mayor of the municipality from the Serbian List, Tanja Antiq, was interviewed under suspicion of influencing voters to vote according to her instructions.

In Gracanica, a person was escorted to the police station on suspicion of influencing citizens to vote and also requesting health reports from certain people to be assisted during voting.

Complaints about assisted voting

Problems with assisted voting were also reported in these elections. Many citizens complained that those who could not read or write were not allowed to vote with assistance.

Deputy Ombudsman Majlinda Sinani-Lulaj said that from the reports they have received from colleagues in the field, complaints have mainly been about difficulties in voting with assistance.

According to her, apart from people with disabilities, who must have a certificate from institutions regarding their disability in order to be allowed to have someone assist them in the voting process, even illiterate people have not been allowed to vote with assistance.  

"There is also some confusion among voters themselves, in the sense that when they go and receive a response from the officials responsible that they cannot vote without proof of disability, people with disabilities are not comfortable with this type of response, but we also have cases when we have people who are not able to write and read and have problems with the voting process, for whom there is no explanation, or at least we are not aware that there is a detailed explanation of how to act with them," Sinani-Lulaj said on the show Elections in the TIME.

On Sunday, the CEC confirmed that it had received complaints about power outages. According to it, power outages were reported in 6 polling stations in 6 municipalities: Istog, Ferizaj, Viti, Rahovec, Gracanica and Gjilan.

Democracy in Action is the largest coalition of organizations that has monitored the election process.

"As reported at other intervals during the day, the key issue that characterized the voting process is related to voters' difficulties in finding the correct polling station, despite the fact that they were offered the opportunity by the CEC to confirm their Voting Center through a link. Thus, since the opening of polling stations at 07:00, difficulties with locating the correct polling station have been reported in almost 2/3 of polling stations, while in 20% of polling stations the number of such cases has reached up to 30," the DNV statement reads.

"The implementation of the rule that allows voting with assistance only in cases where a medical document is presented has caused the phenomenon of voting with assistance to drop significantly compared to past electoral processes. During the 12 hours of the voting process, less than 1% of voters voted with assistance. Cases where assistance was not registered according to the rules were encountered in 11% of polling stations, up to 10 cases. By 19:00, voting with expired documents was encountered in over 30% of polling stations (up to 10 cases), while the number of cases where the ballot was photographed was 32 throughout the day."

Elections in the focus of international media

The elections in Kosovo have also aroused interest in international media, which have linked them to the one-year blockade in 2025.

The Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian and the Washington Post have described these elections as an attempt to end this year's political crisis. "Kosovo voters vote in a second attempt this year to elect a government and avoid more crisis," the Associated Press wrote. This agency recalled that since February 9, Kosovo, although it held regular elections, has not managed to form a government. The Guardian has also published the same article. The Reuters agency has also reported similarly. "Kosovo votes in an attempt to end a year-long political deadlock," is the title of the article about Kosovo in Reuters.