Prime Minister Albin Kurti 's Vetëvendosje party wins the election with about half of the votes and an estimated 56 of the 120 assembly seats but falls short of the 61...

Nationalist Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s party won more than half of the votes in Sunday’s election, opening the way to create a new government after a yearlong political deadlock that has paralysed parliament and delayed key international funding.

The vote is the second this year in Kosovo after Kurti’s Vetevendosje party (VV) fell short of a majority in February.

Kurti’s party was leading with about 50 percent of Sunday’s vote, with 96 percent of votes counted.

“We must move forward as quickly as possible to establish institutions,” Kurti said after the preliminary results were published.

“I invite opposition parties to cooperate in the Assembly for the interest of the citizens and people of the Republic.”.

Analysts say it is difficult to predict if Kurti’s party will be able to form the government on its own without a coalition to secure the 61 seats in the 120-seat assembly.

The figures suggest that VV could secure about 56 seats.

“The results are not final, and I don’t see how Kurti will form the government alone, but it will be very easy for him to govern with a small coalition,” said Ismet Kryeziu from the Kosovo Democratic Institute think tank.

Kryeziu said that Kurti needs a few votes from minority parties to form the new cabinet.

The two main ⁠opposition parties, the Democratic Party and the Democratic League, were at 20.7 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Failure to form a government and reopen parliament would prolong the crisis at a critical time.

Lawmakers must elect a new president in April and ratify 1 billion euros ($1.2bn) in loan agreements from the European Union and World Bank, which expire ⁠in the coming months.

The Balkan country’s opposition parties have refused to govern with Kurti, criticising his handling of ties with Western allies and his approach to Kosovo’s ethnically divided north, where a Serb minority lives.

The political importance lies in whether the issue moves from public comment into formal action, party response, court record, election authority notice or administrative decision.