Kosovans headed to the polls against a backdrop of a stagnant economy and renewed ethnic tensions but the Central Election Commission says turnout was low.
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00:00Preliminary results from Kosovo's legislative elections showing incumbent Prime Minister
00:06Albin Kurti's party in the lead, but short of the majority needed to govern alone.
00:12With 73% of the votes counted, Kurti's leftist self-determination movement party has won
00:18almost 42% of the vote.
00:20Speaking to the press, Kurti said the results confirmed his party was fit to govern.
00:25We are in the lead and this is a confirmation of our good, democratic and progressive government.
00:36Thank you very much.
00:38Did you get 500,000?
00:40Of course, our coalition will form a new government, Kurti III, and in this way we will continue
00:56with the work we have started, but also many others that we are working on.
01:03Kurti has antagonized Western powers after his cabinet took steps that raised tensions
01:08with Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Serbs.
01:11That included a ban on the use of the Serbian currency and transfers from Serbia to Kosovo's
01:16ethnic Serb minority that depend on Belgrade's social services and payments.
01:21The US, the EU and the NATO-led peacekeeping force urged the government in Pristina to
01:26refrain from unilateral actions that could stoke ethnic tensions.
01:31Brussels also suspended funding for some projects and set de-escalation conditions for their
01:37gradual resumption.
01:39Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe with an annual GDP per capita of under
01:446,000 euros.
01:46All parties made pledges to increase public salaries and pensions and improve education
01:51and health services.
01:53However, they didn't explain where the money would come from nor how they would attract
01:57more foreign investment.