The history of elections in a free Kosovo begins in 2000, when the first elections were organized. On October 28 of that year, the Municipal Assembly elections were held, marking the start of a long process of building the institutions of a country that was slowly preparing to become a state.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo established the Central Election Commission in 2000, and this institution was headed by the heads of this mission until 2008, when Kosovo declared independence and assumed responsibility for organizing elections.
The electoral processes in Kosovo are divided into two important historical stages: the elections before and after the independence declared in 2008.
From 2000 until now, dozens of national or partial election processes have been held in our country. While 9 election processes have been organized for the Assembly of Kosovo, 8 election processes have been organized for the Municipal Assemblies.
Direct elections for Mayors began to be held in 2007 and since then, 6 such electoral processes have been organized throughout the years 2007, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025.
Data from the Central Election Commission shows that over the past 25 years, more than 60 people have participated in electoral competitions as candidates for MPs, mayors and municipal assemblies. This figure also includes people who have been certified more than once.
The largest number of certified candidates belong to the Municipal Assembly elections. Over 25 years, in 6 processes, the Central Electoral Commission's statistics speak of the certification of over 1,200 candidates.
The Central Election Commission's data on certified candidates over the years show a profound difference between the two genders. Over the past two and a half decades, out of the total number of candidates, over 19 women and over 41 men have been certified to participate in the electoral process.
For the 2025 Local Elections, the Central Election Commission has certified 5,624 candidates, of which 205 candidates for the elections for Mayors and 5,419 candidates for the Municipal Assembly Elections.
Of the 205 candidates certified to lead municipalities, 185 are men and 20 are women, while in the elections for municipal assembly members, out of 5.419 certified, 3,395 are men and 2,024 are women./RTK
