Maliqi: Support for the LDK will rise in the elections, while no major decline is expected for the PDK

Political analyst Shkelzen Maliqi assesses that in the June 7 elections the LDK will probably achieve a result closer to the one from February last year, that Self-Determination may experience a slight decline compared to that period, while he says the PDK has stable support in every election.

According to Maliqi, there will certainly be changes in the balance of power on the political scene, although it is still unclear to what extent.

“In both 2021 and the most recent elections, Vjosa Osmani brought a large number of votes to Self-Determination. She was the main factor behind their rise and their winning 51 percent of the vote. How many voters she will now attract to her side and how much she will strengthen the LDK remains to be seen. The result will probably be closer to the first elections a year ago,” Maliqi told Kosovo Online.

If there is not a large turnout from the diaspora, then, as he adds, a slight decline for Self-Determination compared to the elections in February last year is also possible.

Asked whether there will be a battle for second place, Maliqi says that the LDK will grow, but that the Democratic Party of Kosovo has almost stable support in every election.

“No major decline for the PDK is expected. An important factor will also be the AAK because it has a new candidate for prime minister, Ardian Gjini. He could represent a surprise or at least ensure that the third Albanian party enters parliament, because with Haradinaj there was always a risk that the AAK might not pass the threshold,” our interlocutor notes.

According to his expectations, the opposition will prevail over Self-Determination, but the question will be whether they will unite.

“If not, then we are heading for new elections again,” Maliqi concludes.