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Kosovo in crisis: What happens when elections are overdone?

2026-04-30 19:44:35Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Kosovo in crisis: What happens when elections are overdone?
Albin Kurti during a campaign

Kosovo will hold parliamentary elections for the third time in less than a year and a half. They will be the second early elections in a row, after those in December 2025, which were caused by the failure of the ninth legislature, which emerged from the regular elections in February of that year, to consolidate institutions.

In these first months of 2026, political entities in the Kosovo Assembly failed to elect the country's president within the constitutional deadline.

As a result, the tenth legislature was dissolved. Acting President Albulena Haxhiu announced June 7 as the date for holding elections.

The adverse effect of elections

Social commentators find the short election cycle tiring.

Sociologist and political analyst, Artan Muhaxhiri, says that democracy is a system of government that aims to empower citizens.

But, according to him, holding elections frequently becomes an exhausting practice, with the opposite effect: loss of confidence in the vote and erosion of political substance.

"The democratic ritual itself becomes the very thing that destroys the spirit and meaning of democracy. Political energy is wasted and a demobilization of participants in the next processes occurs," Muhaxhiri tells Radio Free Europe (REL).

Last year, in addition to two rounds of parliamentary elections, two rounds of local elections were held in most municipalities in Kosovo.

Vebi Mujku from the Institute for Social Policy Development (IZHPS) recalls that, for most citizens, it will be the fifth time they vote within 16 months.

"Going to the polls five times in such a short period of time is extremely difficult for every citizen, both in terms of the economy for the state and in terms of social sustainability for citizens," Mujku tells REL.

Voting fatigue

Citizens in Pristina, whom REL spoke with, find frequent voting tiring.

"Not that they have tired us, but they have tired us too much. The same things are being repeated. The same names will be promoted again, there is no change, there are no new programs," says Gazmend Zhuri.

Edona Selimi expresses the opinion that even the upcoming parliamentary elections will not change the situation on the political and institutional scene.

"Of course we are tired of this new election cycle. I believe that very few of the population will come out [to vote] next time," she says.

For Ekrem Neziri, not only are frequent elections tiring, but also the activities of political entities conducted within the period between elections.

"There is not just one culprit. Everyone is, some less, some more. Everyone must be held accountable," he says.

Other consequences

Muhaxhiri sees the situation as extremely damaging for Kosovo, because citizens, he says, are beginning to perceive the votes as "structurally useless," as they do not see concrete effects on the progress of institutional life.

"Thus, even actors who have the potential to contribute qualitatively to political life lose motivation and gradually withdraw, further degrading the political discourse," Muhaxhiri emphasizes.

"The most dangerous is the idea of ​​normalizing democratic dysfunction, as this invests in building a fatalistic culture that undermines enthusiasm, self-confidence, and collective security," he says.

Muhaxhiri adds that, in this situation, respect for the system fades and extra-institutional forms of action may emerge.

Also, according to him, major polarizations are caused among citizens, without any ideological depth, causing "wide-ranging social stress", which affects the way in which citizens think and experience their relationship with the state.

Mujku says that in his communications with several focus groups, he has seen citizens' disappointment with political parties. According to him, many citizens do not expect that the new elections will produce solutions to the political and institutional crisis.

"Many people have reacted by saying they will not vote [in the elections], especially some who have been fanatics of certain political entities," says Mujku, who predicts that citizen turnout in the upcoming elections will be lower than in those at the end of the year.

Repeating elections, without the result of stabilizing institutions, according to sociologists, causes deep disappointments and multidimensional consequences in society.

Among them, according to Muhaxhir, is "economic anxiety", which has two main aspects: the suspension of long-term life plans in Kosovo and the increase in the level of emigration.

"Emigration is transformed into a silent political act, as a fundamental protest reaction to the entire political spectrum, while this makes electoral dynamics more powerless," he says./ REL


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