The people of Kosovo will elect a new parliament on February 9. What are the key issues in the election campaign and what's at stake?
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00:00This is Mitrovica in northern Kosovo.
00:03Mitrovica is a divided city with a Serb-majority population in the north
00:07and an Albanian-majority population in the south.
00:10But ethnic division is not just restricted to Mitrovica.
00:13It is part of life elsewhere in the country too,
00:16because until it declared independence in 2008, Kosovo was part of Serbia.
00:21This explains why there are a number of Serb-majority municipalities across Kosovo,
00:26which is otherwise predominantly ethnic Albanian.
00:30On February 9, voters in Kosovo will elect a new parliament.
00:34Here are some facts about the country and what's its take in Sunday's poll.
00:39The Republic of Kosovo has roughly 1.6 million inhabitants.
00:43It is a landlocked country that is bordered by Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia.
00:53Kosovo is a parliamentary democracy and its parliament is elected directly by voters for a four-year term.
00:59While around a hundred countries worldwide recognize Kosovo's independence,
01:04Serbia still claims Kosovo as part of its territory.
01:07Tensions have flared repeatedly over the past 16 years,
01:11despite the presence of NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping troops
01:15and the fact that third parties like the EU
01:18mediate in an attempt to normalize relations between the two neighboring countries.
01:22So it is no surprise that Kosovo-Serbia relations feature largely in this year's parliamentary election campaign.
01:29One of the key issues in this area is the association of Serb-majority municipalities,
01:35a structure intended to allow ethnic Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo
01:40to collaborate more closely with each other and exercise their authority.
01:44Would its implementation really improve relations between Serbia and Kosovo?
02:14If Serbia does not have Kosovo, then what will happen to the people?
02:20At the same time, Serbia is afraid that if it makes the people of Kosovo,
02:26Kosovo will not proceed with the association.
02:32And my hope is that Trump will insist or put pressure on them to create a Kosovo.
02:42In 2023, the EU imposed sanctions on Kosovo for failing to de-escalate tensions in the north.
02:50Because EU integration is at the top of Kosovo's political agenda,
02:54these sanctions have become electoral tools for both the ruling self-determination movement, LVV,
03:00the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti,
03:04and for opposition parties who blame the government for the punitive measures imposed by the EU.
03:10In addition to security and EU integration, other key issues in this election include
03:16infrastructure, the health system, education and social prosperity.
03:20Kosovo's population is the youngest in Europe, with 55% under the age of 30.
03:26Statistics say that around 30,000 young people emigrate from Kosovo every year.
03:32We asked young people in the capital Pristina what they want from the next parliament.
03:37It is very important and a priority for every government to promote education.
03:42It should open up new areas of work, as well as promote as many young people as possible.
03:47It should open up new areas where young people can socialize,
03:50not only with young people from Kosovo and from Albania, but also from other parts of the world.
03:54I think we should take serious measures to reduce the use of water and the use of the environment,
04:00as well as reducing the number of accidents and accidents that occur.
04:04I would like to remind you, and I hope you do not mind,
04:09that we are in 2025 and as citizens of the Republic of Kosovo,
04:1425 years after the war, we do not have health services.
04:19A total of 27 parties and one independent candidate are running for 120 seats in parliament.
04:2620 seats are reserved for members of the ethnic minorities,
04:29and half of those for the ethnic Serb minority.
04:33Recent polls show that the Prime Minister's party, LVV, is in the lead with 51.2% support,
04:40followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK.
04:48The EU is deploying a team of 100 observers to monitor Sunday's election.
04:54So far, the election campaign has been calm and passed off without incident.
04:59However, as the events of recent years and elections in the country have shown,
05:04tensions can erupt in Kosovo at any time.