Elections in Kosovo/ What changes did the party lists undergo for June 7?

2026-05-14 14:36:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

New carriers, movement of candidates from one political party to another, leaving well-known party figures out of the top ten and even out of the race: these are the changes in the electoral lists of the main Albanian political entities for the extraordinary parliamentary elections of June 7.

According to political expert Artan Muhaxhiri, the lists of candidates for MPs are a reflection of the dynamics within political entities.

He tells Radio Free Europe that the composition of the lists and the ranking of candidates on them can be used to understand the current state of the parties and their future orientations.

Muhaxheri adds that, apart from the Democratic League of Kosovo – which ranked third last term – other parties “have had neither the will nor the courage” to reform their candidate lists.

"This is a clear sign that they have no plans to make any real reforms and will continue with the approach they have had so far, both in terms of addressing citizens' problems, but also in terms of providing concrete offers," says Muhaxhiri.

Why did the order of candidates on the electoral lists change?

After the deadline for submitting candidate lists to the Central Election Commission expired, the entities published the lists, where changes in the ranking of candidates were also observed compared to the February 9 and December 28 elections.

In LDK, the change starts with the list leader: former member of this entity and former president Vjosa Osmani is placed there, and behind her is the party leader, Lumir Abdixhiku.

The list of this subject has also undergone changes in the top ten. Two former MPs, Avdullah Hoti and Hykmete Bajrami, are missing, while Albena Reshitaj and Jeta Statovci, who were part of the Vetëvendosje Movement Parliamentary Group of the incumbent Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, have been included.

Before the list was published, Hoti, who previously held the post of prime minister, wrote on Facebook that the only number that matters is the party's, while "the other numbers are determined by the citizens."

Meanwhile, Bajrami said that there is no problem with her being placed on the list after "people who until yesterday fought the LDK", a reference to the candidates presented by former President Osmani, who parted ways with the LDK in 2020.

Former LDK MPs Driton Slemanaj, Vlora Dumoshi, Ismet Beqiri, Krenar Xhaferi and Rrezarta Krasniqi have also been left out of the race.

For Muhaxhir, Abdixhiku has risked a lot with the changes made to the list.

"Only a spectacular result from the LDK can justify Abdixhiku, otherwise if the increase is small, then this will be seen as a major failure," he says, adding that the candidates' dissatisfaction with the internal party battles will be reflected in the election result.

In the Democratic Party of Kosovo – which ranked second in the December elections – former MPs Përparim Gruda and Arian Tahiri have entered the top ten this time, after coming in 15th and 30th in the last elections, respectively. However, Eman Rrahmani remained outside the top ten, and Kujtim Gashi, who previously held the position of minister, remained completely out of the race. Former MP Abelard Tahiri and former head of Zubin Potok, Izmir Zeqiri, are also not running.

The composition of the PDK list led by Bedri Hamza, for Muhaxhiri, is the result of a "lack of courage" and planning for any reform, as he says that this party is more focused on the Specialized Chambers in The Hague, where the two former party leaders, Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli, await the verdict on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"The PDK has its eyes and mind set on The Hague, and perhaps even without a final result from the Hague court, no real reform can be expected," Muhaxhiri assesses.

The list of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, which ranked third among Albanian parties in the December elections, also underwent changes. Now, the list is headed by the mayor of Gjakova, Ardian Gjini, while the current party leader, former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, is in 11th place.

Avni Arifi and Burim Ramadani also made it into the top ten, while Pal Lekaj, Gani Dreshaj and Shemsedin Dreshaj remained out of the competition.

Gjini, in addition to being the list leader, is also the AAK candidate for prime minister. For Muhaxhir, Haradinaj's withdrawal from the race for prime minister is the right decision, although he sees him as a challenger to Gjini, who is also expected to be confirmed later as the new party leader.

"The change of both the presidency and the candidacy for prime minister imposes this change on the ground and is a major challenge that Mr. Gjini will have to balance between history and reality," he assesses.

The ruling Vetëvendosje Movement, meanwhile, has fewer changes to its list and the top ten remains unchanged, as the party competes for Kurti's fourth term as prime minister.

Muhaxhiri says he expected that the party's list would not have major changes. According to him, Kurti is "untroubled" in the party's structures.

"It suits him to do a copy-paste and continue in the same way as it has been until now, even though this certainly affects the quality of the intra-party debate, but also of ideas. Because such a thing cannot be expected in a party that acts with such uniformity and where there is no indication that there could be any political change," emphasizes Muhaxhiri.

However, several figures from the LVV have been left out of the race. Former deputy ministers Hysen Durmishi, Dafina Gexha, Blerim Sallahu and Agon Dobruna are not included. Also not included are the former mayor of Leposaviq, Lulzim Hetemi, the former candidate for mayor of Drenas, Egzona Tërdevci, and former MPs Driton Hyseni and Gramos Agusholli.

In addition to the departures of several figures from the lists, there are also new names in the LVV running in the June elections. Among them are the incumbent deputy ministers Arton Konushevci and Triera Kasumi-Berisha, the former chairman of the Albanian National Council, Ragmi Mustafi, and activist Adelina Tërshani.

In PDK, the party leader himself, Bedri Hamza, said that over half of the list of candidates for MPs consists of new names, arguing that this change is "as part of PDK's commitment to giving space to new cadres."

This party's list includes, among others, Rrustem Mustafa - who was previously a member of parliament, former Social Democratic Party MP Aida Dërguti, and former mayor of Zveçan, Ilir Peci.

Criticism of lists

After the publication of the lists, criticism followed, particularly for the inclusion of certain figures.

Political analyst Ilir Deda wrote on social media that LVV, PDK and LDK re-elected people "who manipulated votes on December 28" - referring to changes observed in the votes of several candidates for MPs in several parties, including PDK.

Meanwhile, Ehat Miftaraj from the Kosovo Law Institute said that in the list of candidates for MPs, the Vetëvendosje Movement has included people who have been convicted of criminal offenses and accused of corruption and other criminal offenses.

18 political parties, three coalitions, one civic initiative and one independent candidate are competing in the June 7 parliamentary elections.

The novelty is that this time Fatmir Limaj's Social Democratic Initiative is not competing at all, as PDK rejected his request to include figures from this party on its list. Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party has also returned to the race with a total of six candidates.

According to CEC data, 917 candidates are running for 120 seats in the Assembly, of which 603 are men and 314 are women. /REL