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- 📩 Kosovo goes to polls
📩 Kosovo goes to polls
Plus: Funding freeze hits CEE
DEAR READER,
Last week Lukashenka “won” his 7th presidential term. As his rule already stretches into its fourth decade, experts argue that an inevitable power transition will be on the table at some point, although it is unclear whether he will select a successor. This raises the question: where does the Belarusian diaspora stand? It is timely that the Polish Presidency of the EU is organising the Kościuszko Forum, which aims to map out a vision for Belarus’ future with Belarusian independent circles. We at New Eastern Europe are heading to the forum, and will provide our insights and reflections in next week’s edition.
The US foreign aid freeze has brought a lot of uncertainty in the region, and possibly created more room for Russian interference to further destabilise developments there. And protests are continuing in Serbia, Slovakia, and Georgia.
This week, we are also zooming in on Kosovo, where election is coming up next Sunday. We asked Cameron MacBride from ECMI Kosovo to give us a deep dive on the matter. His primary focus is on contemporary politics in the Western Balkans and the ongoing EU integration of the region.
Enjoy reading this week’s “brief”!
— Giorgi Beroshvili, Editor
TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
🇷🇸 Tens of thousands blocked bridges in Novi Sad on Sunday. Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigned last week, but students leading the protest demand more, organising daily blockades, campus-sit ins, and strikes. President Aleksandar Vučić reshuffled his cabinet and offered pardons. However, he rejected calls for a transitional government.
🇬🇪 Protests hit day 67 in Tbilisi. Yesterday, police arrested over 20 people, including opposition politicians. There have been reports of excessive force, verbal abuse, and even an injured journalist. Protesters blocked highways and Rustaveli Avenue. Worth noting that last week Georgia’s government froze its participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), following a resolution demanding new, democratic elections and an end to human rights abuses.
🇨🇿 Czech National Bank Governor wants to park up to 5% of reserves in bitcoin. ECB President Christine Lagarde responded to Aleš Michl's bold move, saying that bitcoin has “no place” in central banking. The CNB board has only approved analysing new assets, so there is no crypto commitment (yet). Michl says it’s all about diversification, even if the investment could crash and burn.
🇺🇦 USAID funding freeze hits Ukraine. With freeze in place, media outlets and cultural initiatives are struggling, since USAID grants made up most of their budgets. Moreover, Moldova’s election monitors are at risk, while Kosovo and Serbia face setbacks in reforms. Serbia’s Transparency International project on public financing has been stalled. It is worth noting that with the freeze in place, Russia has a chance to further increase its influence in the region.
EXPERT OPINION
Countdown to Kosovo’s election

Next Sunday, citizens from across Kosovo will go to the polls to elect their new parliament for a new four year mandate. Although the young nation has successfully continued its democratic consolidation over this most recent mandate, numerous hurdles continue to hold back the country’s full development, with politicians seemingly unable or unwilling to reach a united consensus on a path forward.
The incumbent left-leaning Vetëvendosje (VV), led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti looks set to easily maintain poll position and is the favourite to lead the next government, although polls show they are unlikely to beat their historic 50.2% result achieved in 2021. Challenging Kurti for his post is the centre-right Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) with their candidate for Prime Minister, Bedri Hamza, as well as the right-leaning Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), led by Lumir Abdixhiku. The two parties historically dominated Kosovo’s politics from the introduction of democratic elections, until VV’s breakthrough victory in 2021, and have both struggled to tackle Kurti’s domination of the political scene since.
Other smaller contenders include the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), led by long-time leader Ramush Haradinaj, in coalition with the social democrat NISMA party, the newly formed right-wing ‘Coalition for Family’, as well as a flurry of smaller parties contesting the 20 seats reserved for national minorities (10 for Serb parties, with the remaining 10 split amongst the other various minorities living across Kosovo).
This election campaign, the sixth national poll since Kosovo declared its partially-recognised independence from Serbia in 2008, has included debates on a multitude of topics, both new and old in the country’s diverse political scene. The long standing issues of Kosovo’s normalisation of relations with Serbia, through which negotiations are currently stalled, the further consolidation of human rights and democracy for all communities within the country, strengthening the rule of law and tackling corruption, as well as increasing the quality of life for average citizens, have all played prominent roles throughout election debates and discussions between the parties.
More recent events have also led to more dynamic political discussions, including on the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has significantly hit the livelihoods of citizens of one of Europe’s poorest countries. Last year the government took significant measures to help elevate the economic challenges faced by citizens by almost doubling the minimum wage from €170 up to €350 a month for most adult aged workers, although some critics dubbed this action little more than a pre-election “gift” to voters.
Relations with the new United States administration, Kosovo’s historically closest ally, has also played a significant role within the campaign. Much like the rest of the world, Kosovo’s political players are all currently attempting to figure out what immediate and longer-term ramifications President Trump’s second term in office could have for the Western Balkans, alongside debating how best to approach him. At present, the US still remains a key actor within Kosovo, ensuring the country’s security as a part of NATO’s KFOR peacekeeping mission, as well as being a significant supporter (both financially and politically) of Kosovo’s ongoing state development process.
The election could also have a significant impact on Kosovo’s place in the Balkans, at a time when the region is undergoing significant turmoil. Relations with neighbouring Serbia, where the largest anti-government protests in over two decades is currently taking place, have yet to be normalised with no end in sight, although all parties have promised various methods on approaching negotiations. Furthermore, the country's historically close ties with Albania, which has its own election coming up this May, have significantly taken a dip over the last four years, amid rumours that Kurti and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama often fail to see eye to eye with one another.
Although Kurti looks all but set to easily repeat his first place positioning from 4 years ago, it remains to be seen if he can gather the support of either another party within the parliament, or scrape together the votes of a handful of minority representatives. Consequently, the currently fractured opposition could put their differences aside in a bid to oust the incumbent Prime Minister, forming a broad coalition of anti-Kurti parties with the support of nearly all ethnic minority members of parliament.
Whatever obstacles and challenges arise from the election campaign and the subsequent parliament, one small victory that all of Kosovo can enjoy is that the resigning parliament is the first one in the country’s young history to complete a full term in office, an important milestone in a developing democracy.
— Cameron MacBride, Project Development Officer with the ECMI Kosovo

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