By 11 a.m., 169,032 eligible voters, or 8.58 percent, had cast their ballots in the parliamentary elections in Kosovo, the Central Election Commission in Pristina announced.
Based on data from 2,343 out of a total of 2,533 polling stations, by 11 a.m., 8.30 percent of voters had voted, compared to the previous elections in 2021, which means that 20,000 more voters have voted in today’s elections so far.
Regular parliamentary elections are being held in Kosovo today. 1,280 candidates are competing for 120 seats in the Assembly of Kosovo. 2,075,868 voters have the right to vote for one of 28 electoral lists, of which about one hundred thousand are outside Kosovo.
In the Assembly of Kosovo, ten guaranteed mandates belong to the Serbian community, and ten to other minorities.
The electoral rivals of Self-Determination, the ruling party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, are the Democratic Alliance and the Democratic Party of Kosovo.
The main contender for the guaranteed mandates of the Serb community is the Serbian List, which is supported by official Belgrade. Regular parliamentary elections in Kosovo are being held for the first time since 2007. In the meantime, five snap elections have been held.
More than 18,000 observers are monitoring the elections. Polling stations will remain open until 7 p.m. Yesterday, Kosovo citizens voted in diplomatic and consular missions.
Osmani and Kurti said that the elections are important for strengthening democracy
I hope that all our citizens will use this opportunity and vote for their representatives, said Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani.
After voting in today’s elections, she stressed that the elections are very important for Kosovo in order to further develop democracy.
She added that it is essential to build institutions.
“I hope that all our citizens will use this opportunity and vote for their representatives,” Osmani said.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said after the vote in Pristina that every citizen of Kosovo should exercise their right to vote and thus decide on the next four years in Kosovo.
“Today is a new day in the sunny winter and this is an exceptional opportunity for the first regular parliamentary elections in the independent state of Kosovo,” he added, BHRT writes.
