Maliqi: October elections a test for early parliamentary elections, but also for new coalitions in Kosovo

Political analyst Shkelzen Maliqi stated that the October 12 local elections could serve as a test for possible early parliamentary elections, as well as an opportunity for leading Albanian parties in Kosovo to form coalitions that would end the institutional deadlock. He is convinced that the Self-Determination Movement will try to improve on its “catastrophic result” from 2021.

“Local elections are always specific. The main focus is on local issues. Every town, every community has its own problems, and voting patterns at the national level don’t necessarily translate to the local level. We saw this in 2021, when Kurti and his coalition won more than 50 percent of the vote in the general elections, but performed catastrophically in the local elections. Now he is trying to somehow improve that situation, but it will be very difficult,” Maliqi told Kosovo Online.

He explained that in the most important Kosovo municipalities, there is never a winner in the first round of local elections.

“In the second round, citizens usually rally around the ‘second party,’ not the ‘first.’ It’s rare that the leading party wins,” Maliqi said.

At the same time, he argues, the local elections will also be a test for potential early parliamentary elections in Kosovo.

Maliqi does not rule out the possibility that this could be the moment when the biggest Albanian parties form coalitions.

“Coalitions are possible here, because this deadlock has to be broken. Everyone has their own ‘red lines’ that must not be crossed. The LDK will not go with the PDK, and no one wants to go with Self-Determination… Kurti will either have to soften his positions, or the other parties, particularly the LDK, will have to ‘tone things down’ a bit, at least to address practical issues at the local level, not the big ones, and form coalitions,” Maliqi said.