Kosovo’s Main Municipalities Face Runoffs After Close-Run Local Elections

A person prepares to cast their vote in local elections in North Mitrovica,12 October 2025. Photo: EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI. Preliminary counts from Sunday’s municipal elections in Kosovo indicate that most major Albanian-majority municipalities – including Pristina, Peja/Pec, South Mitrovica and Prizren – are probably heading to a second round of voting after indecisive results across much of the country. According to the Central Election Commission, runoffs will take place on November 9 in municipalities where no candidate received more than 50 per cent of the vote. The CEC reported a turnout of 39 per cent. However, a few towns saw celebrations in central squares on Sunday evening moments after the polls closed in the elections, with people cheering and cars honking their horns. In Ferizaj/Urosevac, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, secured a solid outright victory. But many races were extremely close, with results showing rivals almost head-to-head. Ruling party Vetevendosje could not reach the 50 per cent threshold for victory in Gjilan/Gnjilane, failing to win outright by just a handful of votes, with its candidate taking 49.8 per cent. In Pristina, current mayor Perparim Rama of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, led the race by fewer than 1 per cent more votes over Hajrulla Ceku of Vetevendosje. The two candidates will face each other in the runoff. Similarly, Arian Tahiri of the PDK led current minister of agriculture Faton Peci of Vetevendosje in South Mitrovica by around 0.4 per cent of the votes, with only 28 ballots separating them. There were surprises elsewhere, with incumbent Drenas/Glogovac mayor Ramiz Lladrovci, running as candidate of his own ‘Champion for Drenas’ initiative, polling ahead of the PDK candidate, Petrit Hajdari. A similar second-round showdown is projected in Prizren, between Shaqir Totaj of the PDK and Artan Abrashi of Vetevendosje. Vetevendosje clinched victory in the first round in the municipalities of Podujeva/Podujevo, Kamenica and Shtime/Stimlje. According to the CEC, the LDK secured wins in Lipjan/Lipljan and Istog/Istok. Bashkim Ramosaj from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, won another mandate in Decan/Decani. At a press conference on Sunday evening, PDK spokesperson Vlora Citaku declared her party the winner of the local elections. “The PDK has won the most municipalities outright and leads in the greatest number heading to runoffs,” Citaku claimed. However, the exact number of votes won by each party has yet to be announced by the election commission. Srpska Lista, the Belgrade-backed party representing the country’s Serb minority, led in nine out of ten of the Serb-majority municipalities after a boycott of the previous local polls two years ago. Srpska Lista made a strong return to the four northern municipalities which have been run by ethnic Albanian mayors for the last two years since the boycott. However, the party’s candidate in Kllokot/Klokot, Bozidar Dejanovic, faces a runoff against Srecko Spasic from Srpska Narodna Sloga (Serbian People’s Unity), who was the town’s mayor over a decade ago. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed satisfaction, telling Serbia’s TV Pink that he wanted to thank Serb voters for “such great and convincing support”. The elections “proceeded calmly and without serious incidents”, Kosovo Police said in a statement. Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti congratulated voters for their behavious during the voting process. “Kosovo’s citizens once again showed [their] democratic culture by going through the local elections responsibly,” Kurti wrote on Facebook.