Politics in Pristina

Pristina being the capital city influences the politics, culture and economic aspects of the whole country. The mayor of Pristina is one of the most influential political figures in Kosovo as well as serving as an urban figure through the youth of the city. Kosovo is known for having the youngest population in Europe with an average of 25 years old.[11] While Ismet Beqiri was a mayor he played a role by singing a short verse with the group “Aurora” in 2004.[12] Beqiri was the Mayor of Pristina for two terms; during his second term in 2010 he rose to the head of the LDK, the second-largest party in Kosovo.[13] Mustafa also established himself as one of the leaders of the country in the opposition ranks and did so through his position as a mayor. However, Mustafa has been often criticised for his distance from the voters especially for the lack of communication with the youth.[14] In the 2013 local elections, Shpend Ahmeti, a professor of economics, gathered most of the youth of Pristina around his campaign also due to the fact that he was nearly 30 years younger than Isa Mustafa. His team and staff consisted of young people, and Ahmeti delivered a more modern public image, presenting himself closer to the voters. A lot of young people chose to volunteer in his meetings, therefore his campaign in general represented a novelty in Kosovan politics.[15] Ahmeti promised to go to work by public transport in order to save money from the use of expensive official cars and has been doing so until now.[16]

The 2000 and 2002 elections were organised with a different voting system. In the 2000 elections, the voting was framed through open-lists. The parties chose the candidates for their list. The city council had the right to vote and elect the mayor. The first Mayor of Pristina was Salih Gashi, a member of the LDK. Gashi was elected after gaining the majority of votes of the members of the city council. The 2002 elections were made through closed-lists. It was the last time the mayor was chosen from the city council. As mentioned, Ismet Beqiri was chosen as a mayor, a position he held until 2007.

In the elections of 2007, Beqiri became the first mayor to be elected through the direct-voting system. The city council competencies have been constantly altering and at the same time decreasing. The juridical framework for local and national elections in Kosovo changed constantly for over a decade.

Until 2009 the elections, both national and local, were organised by the OSCE. Each election process has been observed by many international organisations and has been followed by reports on the welfare of the elections.

After Slobodan Milošević rose to power in December 1989 the Parliament of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was dissolved. Schools and the university were closed, the national TV, RTP (the Radiotelevision of Pristina) stopped transmitting the Albanian part and around 200,000 Kosovan-Albanians were dismissed from their employment. This led to an institutional organisation within Kosovo in the early 1990s. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) was established as a democratic party in 1989 and gained major support within a short time. In 1992, the LDK, led by Ibrahim Rugova, organised the first elections in Kosovo. In Serbia these elections were considered illegal while Rugova and the LDK described them as democratic. The turnout was very high and the elections were organised in two levels: for the president of Kosovo and for the Parliament. The LDK won over 90%. Ibrahim Rugova was elected president. The Coordinative Party Council who consisted of most of the Kosovan-Albanian parties was formed in Kosovo after political pluralism was allowed in the late 1980s. The newly formed Parliament of Kosovo in 1992 did not function regularly because of the political conditions, but it created the commissions who would function as ministries within Kosovo. The Commissions were: the Commission for Education, Commission for Culture, Commission for Health, and the Commission for Solidarity. The commission established a parallel governing-system, opened Albanian language schools and was recognised as a legitimate executive within the population. The funds needed for the organisation of the parallel system were raised from two sources: 3% from a funding plan established by the Kosovo Government in Exile, and from The Financial Council of Kosovo. Although formally they were elected the local nomenclature was almost non-existent because the competences were taken over by the commissions which functioned as a form of national government. The second elections were organised in 1998, but organisation was poor as the region had been subject to war since 1997.

The national and local elections held in 2000 in Kosovo were the first democratic elections held after the war. The elections were expected with massive support of the population and were seen as the first step of Kosovo towards democracy. OSCE was the organiser of the elections in accordance with the political factor of Kosovo. The elections took place in October and the number of participating voters was remarkably high. In Pristina the LDK came out as the first party collecting 65.2% of the votes. The second party was, at that time, the newly formed PDK with 20.8%.[21] Salih Gashi was elected Mayor of Pristina and held the position until 2002. Berim Ramosaj was the executive head-chief from 2000-2002.

The local 2002 elections were also organised by the OSCE. The elections took place in October while the turnout in Kosovo was 54%.[22] The voting was applied through the proportional system with closed lists. 1/3 of the members of the Assembly were elected on a gender basis. In Pristina the LDK held its primary-winning 54.46%. The PDK had a slight increase gaining 24.97%. In 2002 nearly three years after the war, the competences of the Kosovan institutions had started to increase slightly. The new mayor elected, Ismet Beqiri, at that time was 38 years old. Beqiri came from a suburb known as Kodra e Trimave, one of the biggest bastions of the LDK in Pristina. He had to face the competition of a few other candidates within the LDK to win the right to be the candidate of the party.

The planned 2006 local elections were delayed for a year in order to be organised at the same time with the national elections. The local and national elections were held in November 2007 and were the last local elections to be organised by the OSCE. The 2007 elections provided dramatic changes to the political scene of Kosovo although in Pristina the political constellation remained pretty much the same. The LDK came out as the first party in both rounds. In the first round, the LDK with Pristina won 36.05% of the votes while PDK candidate Fatmir Limaj collected 24.81%. The 2007 local elections were the first direct voting for the candidate elections. Pristina was elected mayor in the runoff defeating Fatmir Limaj and becoming the first Mayor of Pristina to be elected directly by the voters. The result was 58.2% against 41.8%.[23]

The 2009 local elections were held in November. The elections were announced after the President of Kosovo Fatmir Sejdiu accorded with the political subjects after talks with their leaders. The 2009 elections were the first elections held after Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008. The elections were the first elections organised by the institutions of the country; however, there was help from several international organisations. In Pristina, the LDK continued the dominance that now had won the capital city for the fourth consecutive time. Mustafa was re-elected as mayor winning in the first round with 57.22%. His second rival, Vegim Gashi of the New Kosovo Alliance collected 22.29%.[24]

The 2013 local elections were the first elections organised after Kosovo ended Supervised Independence in 2012. The outcome brought dramatic changes of mayors in most of the municipalities of Kosovo. In Pristina, the first round of the elections held in November saw Pristina of the LDK as first with 42.75%. Shpend Ahmeti of Vetëvendosje held second place with 31.89%. The second round, however, saw a U-turn in the voting results with Ahmeti being elected as mayor, hence becoming the first non-LDK mayor in Pristina after the war. Ahmeti defeated Mustafa with 51% to 49% and executed his oath in early 2014. During the oath, he brought the national flag of Albania.[25]

Ahmet was re-elected as mayor in the second round of Kosovo's 2017 local elections.[26]

In the second round of Kosovo's 2021 local elections, Përparim Rama, a United Kingdom-based architect backed by the LDK, defeated Arben Vitia of Vetëvendosje, becoming Pristina's next mayor.[27]