Kosovo’s Social Democratic Vetevendosje (Self Determination) party of incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti party has won Sunday's parliamentary elections, according to an almost complete official vote count, released on Monday evening.
However Kurti fell short of an absolute majority and will need to find allies.
With 99.17% of ballots counted, Vetevendosje leads with 41% of the vote, followed by the right-wing Democratic Party of Kosovo (22.15%), and the centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo (17.59%), according to the results published by the Kosovo Electoral Commission.
The counting of the remaining votes, likely from abroad or “conditional votes,” may take time as Kosovo's laws allow citizens without identity documents to vote subject to subsequent identity verification.
Despite what appeared to be a relative majority, 49-year-old Kurti claimed victory a few hours after the polls closed on Sunday.
“Without any hesitation, we will form a government,” he told his supporters. “Congratulations on our victory.”
