NGOs Democracy in Action and the Coalition for Electoral Integrity said that there will be run offs in Drenas (Gllogoc), as no candidate reached the 50 per cent of votes required for victory.

According to the Central Election Committee, CEC, preliminary results the PDK candidate, Ramiz Lladrovci, got 45 per cent of the votes. Isa Xhemajlaj, NISMA candidate, trails behind him with 27 per cent of the votes.

Independent candidate Xhavit Drenori received 12 per cent; Bedri Nikaj from LDK received five per cent; Elmi Thaci from AKR received nine per cent; and Vehbi Berisha from Partia Fjala received two per cent.

Since the snap elections ended with none of the candidates receiving over 50 per cent of votes,  the PDK candidate Lladrovci and NISMA candidate Xhemaljaj will compete for the mayoral seat in the run offs expected to be held on December 18.

PDK has had landslide victories in the local elections after Kosovo’s independence in this municipality. In 2009, it won 90.5 per cent of the votes, and in 2013 it won 63.44 per cent of the votes.

Elections in the stronghold of a divided party

The frontrunner Lladrovci said that he and his party have clearly won these elections, too.

“I, as you have seen, am clearly the winner and PDK has won the elections,” said Lladrovci.

After the publication of preliminary results, NISMA’s candidate Xhemajlaj said that 60 per cent of the residents in Drenas voted for change, and that the 40 per cent of votes that went to the PDK candidate are a result of campaigning of government officials, including the party’s leader Kadri Veseli, who is also the assembly speaker.

“The glory does not belong to me, many a time we’ve seen leaders feeling boisterous when people wanted a change,” said Xhemaljaj alluding that he would not do the same.

Both parties celebrated with fireworks late into the night.