2010 Kosovan parliamentary election

In the Assembly (Kuvendi/Skupstina), 100 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 20 members are reserved to represent Kosovo's national minorities to serve 4-year terms.

In the proportional tier, there is a 30 percent female quota under which every third candidate must be female. Electors may vote for up to five individual candidates within the list they choose. For the 20 reserved seats, 10 seats are reserved for Serbs, 4 seats for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, 3 seats for the Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Croats, Hungarians, Toskan, 2 seats for the Turks, and seat for the Gorans.[4]

The election was initially called on 15 October 2010, after President Fatmir Sejdiu resigned in September 2010 over accusations of breaching the constitution by continuing to hold his party leadership while president. However, the next day the Democratic League of Kosovo announced it would leave the ruling coalition on 18 October 2010, which would require early elections to be held within 45 days of that date.[5] After the government failed a vote of no confidence on 2 November 2010, the election was set for 12 December 2010.[6][7] The vote was a result of Hashim Thaçi's governing party supporting a no-confidence vote to trigger a snap election.

This was to be the first election since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, and the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the legality of the declaration.

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) split before the election. In late October 2010, former Health Minister Bujar Bukoshi and Ukë Rugova (the son of the late president Ibrahim Rugova) announced they would be filing a citizens' list called LDK – Ibrahim Rugova to run in the election.[9] The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo of Ramush Haradinaj also signed an agreement with the LDK – Ibrahim Rugova faction list on 10 November 2010.[10]

At a party congress on 7 November, Pristina mayor Isa Mustafa was elected as the new leader of LDK, beating incumbent Fatmir Sejdiu with 235 to 125 votes.[11]

AKR-PD-PSD-PPI-PPK-PNDSH-PGJK-New Kosovo Alliance of Behgjet Pacolli signed pre-election agreements with the Justice Party and the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo in early November.[12] The coalition nominated Mimoza Kusari-Lila as its prime ministerial candidate.[13]

The following parties were registered for the parliamentary elections:[14]

As campaigning began President Jakup Krasniqi called on "all political parties to run their campaigns in accordance with the law." He said that "For a moment the whole world will look at us, to see our democratic culture and political maturity and the seriousness of a declared state that has so far been recognised by 72 countries."[15] Incumbent Thaçi was expected to benefit from an election where his viable contenders were in disarray.[16]

Though the election passed off largely without incident, a Bosniak candidate who worked with the authorities in Pristina was shot dead in the northern city of Leposavić.

The DPK, led by incumbent Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, was expected to narrowly win the election, though it would face difficulty in forming a stable government as its potential coalition partners, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo,[17] ruled out working with his party.[18] The nationalist Vetëvendosje movement and the Liberal Democratic Fryma a Re (FER) were also expected to enter parliament for the first time after crossing the minimum 5% threshold.[19]

The Central Electoral Commission came under pressure to work quickly for the snap polls with a "short windor for preparations." Amid concerns of removing ineligible voters in such a short time, about 6,000 people were taken off the voting lists. The head of the commission Valdete Daka said on this would be Kosovo's most strictly watched elections with thousands of local and international observers in attendance.[20] 1.6 million people were eligible to vote. About 5,000 civil society representatives and international missions were scheduled to monitor the election.[19]

Following a 21 November municipal election that was found to have had mistakes, the CEC,and the largest monitoring mission, Democracy in Action, admitted having made the mistakes in vote counting in Orahovac with second place being given to the wrong party. This raised concerns for the parliamentary election.[21]

Though Serbia told Kosovan Serbs conditions were not right for the election, turnout was expected to be high in the Serb enclaves of Gračanica and Štrpce.[22] Vuk Drašković, a former foreign minister in Serbia and leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, urged Kosovan Serbs to vote.[23] The US ambassador also called on the Kosovan Serbs to vote,[24] as well as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia who said voting in the polls would not deny them social welfare from Serbia.[25] Several Serb organisation in both Serbia and Kosovo's Serbian areas said that continuing a boycott of elections was a denial of the ground reality.[26] However, some Kosovan Serb officials warned that mobile polling stations would be provocative and could lead to untoward incidents. The head of the Zvečan municipality near Kosovska Mitrovica, Dragiša Milović, said polling booths in Serb areas, including the police station were "unacceptable."[25]

Voting in the north would occur in temporary polling stations; while turnout was predicted to be low, Serbs in other areas of Kosovo were expected to have a big turnout.[18]

Incumbent PM Hashim Thaçi claimed victory in the election before the result was certified by the CEC[30] with exit polls showing the Democratic Party of Kosovo won 31 percent and the Democratic League of Kosovo followed with 25 percent, though this was not yet certified by the CEC.[31][32] Exit polls also indicated a 47% turnout.[33]

The two leading parties, DPK and LDK, were in the previous governing coalition.[34] According to preliminary results issued by the Central Election Commission,[35] the breakdown of votes is:

The Democratic Party of Kosovo needs at least two coalition partners. As it previous allies ruled out working with the party and the Vetëvendosje! movement considered too nationalistic to form a government, the New Kosovo Alliance and the minority parties Independent Liberal Party and the United Serbian List were seen the most likely coalition partners.[17] The United Serbian List, however, rejected rumours about their participation in a DPK-led government on 16 December.[58]

The Democratic Party of Kosovo and the New Kosovo Alliance agreed on a coalition on 19 December.[59] However, this report was denied by Agim Çeku of the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo the next day.[60] However, the New Kosovo Alliance then said there would be no place in government for people under criminal investigation, in reference to the organ theft report.[61] The SLS said on 28 December that it would join a government led by the DPK.[62] There were also rumours following the election that Hashim Thaçi would become president, while Mimoza Kusari-Lila would become PM.[63] Behgjet Pacolli, leader of the New Kosovo Alliance stated, on 30 December, that he would either demand the office of president in return for entering a coalition with the PDK[64] or the ministries of Finance and Health.

A deal between PDK and AKR was tentatively reached on 9 February 2011.[65] However, some PDK members were reportedly unhappy with Pacolli becoming president, but would rather see acting president Jakup Krasniqi take over in a permanent capacity.[66] On 11 February, this was confirmed and Pacolli was offered the office of Assembly Speaker and Deputy Prime Minister, as well as four ministries for his AKR party, but not the office of President. Reportedly, the coalition will include only PDK, AKR and minority parties, as well as Ukë Rugova's Ibrahim Rugova List, totaling 65 MPs, a majority.[67] According to Koha Ditore, the PDK accepted Pacolli's demands on 13 February.[68]

The distribution of ministries reported in the media foresees three ministries for the AKR party, two or three ministries for the ethnic Serb parties and one ministry each for other minorities and Ukë Rugova, with the rest going to Thaçi's PDK. Hashim Thaçi would be nominated for PM, Jakup Krasniqi as Assembly Speaker and Pacolli as president.[69]

The coalition agreements, according to the foreign media, foresee that: The PDK will get a deputy prime minister and ten ministries, AKR would get a deputy prime minister and three ministries, the Serb minority party SLS would get the post of another deputy prime minister and three ministries, the Ibrahim Rugova List would get another deputy prime minister and a ministry and the other non-Serbian minorities (working together as the parliamentary group "6 plus") would also get a ministry.[70][71]

The coalition agreement was finally signed on 20 February 2011 and the distribution of ministries was:[72]

• The AKR will have Muhamet Mustafa as deputy prime minister. Agim Çeku in the Security Force Ministry, Ferid Agani in the Health Ministry and Mimoza Kusari-Lila in the Trade and Industry Ministry.
• Independent Liberal Party (SLS) leader Slobodan Petrović will be deputy prime minister and the SLS will get the Local Self-Government Ministry, Communities and Return Ministry and Labor and Social Welfare Ministry.
• The minorities' parties (Turks, Ashkalis and Egyptians) will get the Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry.

The agreement with the Ibrahim Rugova List would be signed later.

• Crowdmap for tracking issues with the election
• Kosovo election 2010 - from Balkan Insight.