By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PRISTINA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The people of Kosovo began voting Sunday in an election that analysts say could mark another milestone in the young country’s history as it may determine its future territorial integrity in an increasingly volatile region. Yet the vote was overshadowed by ethnic tensions between the Albanian majority and minority Serbs.
Camera crews struggle to get a glimpse of Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti as he cast his ballot in the parliamentary election of this small but strategic Balkan nation of 1.6 million people.
Opinion polls suggested that his nationalist Vetëvendosje (Self-determination) party would receive the most votes but not enough to form a majority government.
Yet Kurti already warned he wasn’t interested in a coalition with any significant opposition parties, suggesting more political turmoil in Kosovo.
Polls appeared to show that many voters are pleased that Kurti, who led the government since 2021, succeeded where his predecessors failed: He tightened the control of the Albanian-majority government over a rebellious Serb area on its northern border.
Kosovo’s ethnically mainly Orthodox Serb minority is variously estimated to be 4 to 8 percent of the population, and many remain loyal to Belgrade rather than Pristina. The local Serbs’ most significant stronghold is on the north side of the town of Mitrovica near the Serbian border.
DISMANTLING INSTITUTIONS
However, Prime Minister Kurti recently succeeded in deploying Kosovo police, shutting down parallel institutions, and enforcing the use of the euro over the Serbian dinar currency.
And he, with his party, campaigned to dismantle the remaining Serbian institutions in Kosovo while expanding the central government’s reach over Serb-majority areas.
That worries neighboring Serbia, which never recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. The United States and the European Union have expressed concern.
Kosovo also closely watches the U.S. Donald J. Trump’s next move: The last Trump administration backed a plan that would eventually involve the patrician of Kosovo, which Serbia still regards as its province.
Ethnic tensions have overshadowed developments welcomed by the international community, such as the government’s success in radically reducing unemployment, raising the minimum wage, and achieving economic growth above the regional average.
Yet, with ethnic strife rising and Trump in the White House, observers have warned that the U.S. could even withdraw its peacekeepers from Camp Bondsteel in southeastern Kosovo, leaving the country less secure at a crucial time of regional upheaval.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Monday that it is expanding operations across the Gaza Strip under its renewed offensive “Gideon’s Chariots,” including intensified airstrikes and targeted operations in Khan Younis and beyond. A spokesperson stated, “The IDF is in the midst of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ and is operating throughout the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday defended Israel’s decision to allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza, stating that international pressure had reached a “red line.” In a video statement, Netanyahu said, “We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We will not be able to support you.”
For the first time in weeks, anti-Hamas protests erupted in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday, with hundreds of residents taking to the streets amid escalating military activity. Protesters could be seen in footage released by local media chanting, “Stop the war and the displacement! Hamas out!”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday extended a previous block on President Donald Trump’s plan to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in northern Texas.
Thousands of Hungarians rallied Sunday against new proposed legislation that they fear will lead to a Russian-style crackdown on independent media and other organizations.
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Sunday that the Trump administration’s nuclear talks with Iran hinge on a single non-negotiable condition: Tehran must abandon all uranium enrichment.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Sunday the launch of a new, large-scale ground offensive throughout the Gaza Strip as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” marking a dramatic escalation in the ongoing war against Hamas.