The vote is seen as a key test for incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti and this is the first time since independence in 2008 that Kosovo's parliament has completed a full four-year mandate.
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00:00Polls have opened across Kosovo in legislative elections taking place against a backdrop
00:07of an ailing economy and renewed ethnic tensions.
00:11Voters will elect 120 lawmakers in what's being seen as a key test for incumbent Prime
00:16Minister Albin Kurti.
00:18Kurti's left-wing self-determination movement party is seen as the front-runner but isn't
00:23expected to win a majority to govern alone.
00:26The other contenders are the Democratic Party of Kosovo, whose former leaders are at a war
00:30crimes tribunal in The Hague, and the Democratic League of Kosovo, the oldest party in the
00:36country.
00:37On the campaign trail, parties pledge to increase public salaries and pensions, improve health
00:42services and fight poverty.
00:44Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with an annual GDP of less than 6,000
00:49euros per person.
00:51The vote will also determine who will represent Kosovo in EU-led normalization talks with
00:56Serbia to get both sides closer to joining the bloc.