Kosovo’s acting prime minister Albin Kurti said a new government would be formed swiftly after the certification of results, following what he described as a historic victory for his Vetëvendosje Movement in December 28’s snap parliamentary elections.

According to preliminary results from the Central Election Commission (CEC), Vetëvendosje won 49.3% of the vote, or 429,903 ballots, after 99.92% of the polling stations had been counted, representing an increase of about seven percentage points compared with the February 9 elections.

The figures do not yet include votes from the diaspora, conditional ballots or votes cast by people with special needs. The turnout was close to 45%.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) placed second with nearly 21% of the vote, while the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) suffered the sharpest decline, falling to 13.6%.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) crossed the electoral threshold with 5.66%, while the Social Democratic Initiative failed to enter parliament after winning only 1.7%.

Vetëvendosje has secured 56 seats in the 120-member Assembly, eight more than in the February elections. PDK is projected to hold 23 seats, LDK 15 and AAK six, Koha.net reported.

The remaining 20 seats are reserved for minority communities, including 10 for the Serbian community and 10 for other non-majority groups. The Serbian List said it had secured all 10 reserved Serb seats with 4.8% of the vote.

Although Vetëvendosje falls just short of the 61 votes needed to elect the Assembly speaker and approve a cabinet, the party can form a government with the support of non-Serb minority representatives, avoiding reliance on the main opposition parties.

A total of 899,521 citizens voted inside Kosovo, marking the highest turnout recorded for parliamentary elections held within the country, excluding diaspora and special-category votes.

Addressing supporters on election night, Kurti said: “On February 9, Vetëvendosje won. On December 28, the people and the Republic of Kosovo won.” He added that work would continue without delay after certification of the results, including on international agreements, for which he expects cooperation across the political spectrum.

The European Union called for the rapid formation of new institutions and urged the next government to advance reforms and ratify agreements under the EU Growth Plan, enabling Kosovo to access EU funds and move towards the lifting of restrictive measures.