Caretaker PM's party leads Kosovo vote: exit polls

PRISTINA:

Voting in Kosovo's parliamentary elections closed Sunday with exit polls suggesting that caretaker PM Albin Kurti's Vetevendosje (VV) was leading, but short of the overall majority required to break the political deadlock.

Kurti's VV is projected to win 44.1 percent, followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) with 23.9 percent and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with 16.1 percent, according to the exit poll from TV Klan Kosova.

TV channel T7 put the VV at 43.5 percent, with other exit polls also indicating a narrow victory.

These figures suggest VV could secure up to about 50 of 120 parliamentary seats — not enough to govern alone.

That would mirror the outcome of the February 9 elections, when Kurti failed to form a government despite winning 42 percent of the vote, leaving the country in political crisis.

These new elections were seen as a way of breaking 10 months of political deadlock, with the hope that that would unfreeze foreign funding for one of Europe's poorest countries.

"The voters did not offer a solution or a way out of the crisis," independent observer Dukagjin Gorani told local media as the results emerged.

"I expect the same situation after the elections," one voter in Pristina, 42-year-old economist Arben Xhelili, told AFP.

Economy in focus

Following the February elections, MPs needed more than 50 sessions to agree on a speaker, but no coalition or government emerged, forcing the country back to the polls.

"Once the election result is known, we will do everything we know and can to constitute parliament as soon as possible and proceed with forming a new government," Kurti promised after voting on Sunday.

In February, he had campaigned on a promise to govern Kosovo "from one end to the other" — including Serb-majority areas where the influence of Belgrade often outweights that of Pristina.

This time around Kurti has focused on the economy, sidelining relations with Serbia — which has never recognised the secession of its former province in 2008.

"Beyond the controversies, the economy is doing very well, and this year again we will record GDP growth of 4 percent. Throughout my term, we have never fallen below 4 percent," Kurti told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.

In recent days, he has also announced that the government would pay 100 euros ($117) to pensioners and to every family with young children by the end of the year.

"Electoral corruption," responded the two other main parties, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

They have also campaigned on the economy and the most vulnerable groups — but by attacking the government record.

In front of one of the polling stations in Pristina, Arefik Mexhmejli, a 66-year-old pensioner, told AFP that whoever wins "should work harder for the economy".