Parties ready for local race – But when will citizens head to the polls?

Although the curtain has yet to fall on the parliamentary elections, political parties in Kosovo are already gearing up for the local elections scheduled for this fall. Legally speaking, the date for their holding could be set at any moment, but it will largely depend on the outcome of the ongoing blockade in the Kosovo Assembly. According to Kosovo Online sources, the Self-Determination Movement is aiming to merge early parliamentary elections with municipal elections for mayors and local councils to perform better in municipalities than it did in 2021. However, it is noted that Self-Determination does not have the sole authority to set the election date.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has already officially announced the beginning of preparations for the local elections, with meetings held with its branch leaders.

Self-Determination has also rolled up its sleeves, launching its campaign in Prizren by announcing the defection of Behar Begaj, previously the head of the LDK branch in Zhur, a village in the municipality of Prizren.

In the last local elections four years ago, Self-Determination’s mayoral candidates failed to win a single municipality in the first round. In the second round, where they competed in 12 municipalities, they secured victory in only four – Gjilan, Podujevo, Kamenica, and Shtime. Kurti’s party lost in the two largest cities – Pristina, where the LDK candidate won, and Prizren, where the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) claimed victory.

According to Kosovo’s Law on Local Elections, the date is set and announced by the President of Kosovo after consultations with political parties. Elections cannot be held earlier than 60 days before the expiry of a local government’s mandate and no later than 30 days after the mandate ends.

The current local administrations – excluding those in the north formed after the 2023 snap elections – were constituted in November and early December 2021. This means that elections in municipalities could be held as early as September. Since the date can be set as early as six months and no later than four months before election day, President Vjosa Osmani could, in theory, set the date even today.

Political analyst Gezim Kasapolli told Kosovo Online that he believes Self-Determination plans to synchronize early parliamentary elections with the upcoming local elections in order to try to secure more municipal victories than in 2021.

“Albin Kurti will attempt to ‘sell’ his image and mythology to the local electorate, essentially trying to reflect the parliamentary picture onto the municipal level to gain a majority, since LDK won the 2021 local elections. At the time, there was a massive gap of 250,000 votes between Self-Determination’s parliamentary and local election results,” said Kasapolli.

He pointed out that all parties have already begun preparing for local elections, which he called illogical given that the Assembly hasn’t even been constituted nor a government formed following the 9 February parliamentary elections. A new parliament, he said, must be formed before anything else proceeds.

Local elections are expected in October, but their exact date remains a matter of political agreement.

Kasapolli noted that Kurti would benefit most if elections were held during the summer, as he receives substantial support from the diaspora, which tends to return to Kosovo during that period, reducing the need for costly outreach abroad.

“In previous elections, Kurti primarily targeted the diaspora, leveraging embassies and running political campaigns through them. He later shifted to campaigning on social media, knowing that his base largely consists of younger people who are highly active online,” Kasapolli explained.

Lazar Stevic, a journalist from North Mitrovica, noted that Self-Determination aims to align the timing of local and new parliamentary elections but warned that this would imply a blocked Assembly until September.

“Albin Kurti and Self-Determination are taking full advantage of the current situation. I believe they’ve already entered campaign mode. We’ve seen this in recent days – the raid on the sports hall, the closure of the water utility, and other institutions… They simply have nothing else to offer their southern electorate – no economic measures, no wage increases – so they play the nationalism card. However, whatever they do ends up harming the Serbs, not just in the north, but throughout Kosovo,” Stevic told Kosovo Online.

He believes Self-Determination won’t perform better than in 2021, as their popularity has declined – as reflected in the recent parliamentary results.

“Four years ago, Self-Determination had a strong majority and formed the government alone, but that’s no longer the case. Their ratings have dropped significantly, and I don’t expect them to win more municipalities than last time. Especially if foreign actors get involved – and we know who the number one decision-maker is: the United States. Kurti doesn’t have a good relationship with the U.S. Even Richard Grenell managed to slash Kurti’s support by 10% with just two tweets during the last elections. If voters are again urged to support a side aligned with the U.S., his ratings will drop further,” Stevic added.

According to analyst Predrag Rajic, the current situation, with Kurti serving in a caretaker role, actually benefits him. It allows him to strengthen party infrastructure ahead of the local elections while retaining executive authority.

“Kurti suffered a major defeat in the last local elections. He lost in all major cities. I’m not sure that will be the case this time. I think he will at least win in one city to claim that Self-Determination is stronger locally than four years ago. That’s probably his goal,” Rajic told Kosovo Online.

However, he noted that local election results often diverge from parliamentary ones, and whether the local and potential snap parliamentary elections will be held on the same day does not depend solely on Kurti.

“To dissolve parliament and call early elections, he needs a two-thirds majority – which he doesn’t have. That requires political consensus, including with the opposition,” Rajic pointed out.

He concluded that this constitutional deadlock could last a long time – a situation that may suit Kurti even more than reaching a prompt agreement with the opposition, as he can continue ruling by decree in his caretaker role.