After a year of political paralysis in Kosovo, Parliament elected on Wednesday evening the government presented by outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti. His program focuses on the economy and increased investment in defense. Although he denounces the "incessant attacks and threats from Serbia", which has never recognized the independence proclaimed in 2008 by Kosovo, Albin Kurti nevertheless promises to "pursue the normalization of relations" with Belgrade.

Published on: 02/12/2026 - 00:38

The Kosovo Parliament put an end to a year of political paralysis by ratifying, on Wednesday evening, February 11, the composition of a government presented by outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti, whose party won the early legislative elections.

These last elections were organized on December 28, after the failure of Albin Kurti in his attempt to constitute a parliamentary majority following a first vote which took place in February 2025. He then led a technical government for twelve months.

“I note that the Assembly has elected the government of the Republic of Kosovo,” declared the Speaker of Parliament, Albulena Haxhiu, specifying that 66 of the 120 members of the Assembly had voted in this direction.

Albin Kurti, aged 50, announced in recent days his intention to act quickly to have Parliament approve international loans essential for the local economy, in particular those granted by Brussels, which requires a two-thirds majority. His party, Vetëvendosje (VV), which supports a social policy markedly on the left and with a nationalist orientation, obtained 51.1% of the votes in the December legislative elections, thus securing 57 seats.

Increased investment in defense

In power since March 2021, after also briefly leading a government between February and June 2020, Albin Kurti succeeded in building this new majority with the support of elected officials representing minorities. In a speech before the vote, he presented a program focused on the economy and increased investment in defense, attacking Serbia, which has never recognized the independence proclaimed in 2008 by Kosovo, its former southern province.

See alsoIn the north of Kosovo, the authorities are trying at all costs to integrate the Serbian population

“In recent years, (...) we have been faced with incessant attacks and threats from Serbia,” he told deputies, while promising to “continue the normalization of relations” with Belgrade. “Normalization consists of regulating relations between two states, that is to say, establishing bilateral relations (...) without interference or intervention in internal affairs,” insisted Albin Kurti, known for his firm positions against Serbia.

Relations have remained tense between the two countries since the war of the late 1990s, particularly in northern Kosovo where mainly Serbs live. The normalization of relations is an essential condition for their future integration into the European Union.

The result of the December vote was confirmed on January 31 by the Electoral Commission, which initially ordered a complete recount of the ballots after irregularities were discovered. A criminal investigation was opened and more than a hundred electoral staff were arrested in mid-January for "falsifying electoral results, pressure and intimidation, as well as active and passive corruption". Some of them were placed in detention for one to two months, while the investigations last.

Earlier today, MPs elected the new Speaker of Parliament, Albulena Haxhiu, a former Minister of Justice and member of Vetëvendosje.

With AFP

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