Farizi: Kurti may win more diaspora votes than others, but far fewer than in parliamentary elections

Political analyst from Skopje, Lulzim Farizi, told Kosovo Online that he assumes Albin Kurti’s party will win far fewer votes in the upcoming local elections than in the parliamentary elections held in February, since the number of registered diaspora voters for the local elections is much smaller than it was for the parliamentary ones.

Farizi recalls that four years ago, when parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo were held in the same year, Kurti won a record number of votes in Kosovo’s history in the parliamentary elections, only to lose half of them in the local elections.

He also notes that, in general, enthusiasm is higher for parliamentary than for local elections.

“In Kosovo, there are clear differences between parliamentary and local elections. The number of registered diaspora voters for the local elections is 46,000, while for the parliamentary elections, there were 100,000 registered. This shows that the diaspora’s interest in local elections is much lower. For the parliamentary elections held in February, diaspora voters not only registered online and by mail, but also came to vote directly at polling stations in Kosovo,” the analyst explained.

He pointed out that political parties in North Macedonia tend to receive the same number of votes regardless of whether elections are local or parliamentary, but in Kosovo, it is, as he says, completely the opposite, since mayors are elected directly and voting is tied to “personal interests that directly affect citizens at the local level.”

Farizi emphasized that Kosovo’s diaspora is generally directly tied to Albin Kurti’s ideas and his movement, given that he has a large organizational structure outside of Kosovo, especially in major cities across Europe, as well as in the United States.

“I think Kurti could still win more diaspora votes than all other political parties combined, perhaps thanks to his lobbying, perhaps due to his positions, but it is clear that he will receive far fewer votes than he did in the parliamentary elections,” Farizi concluded.