Ahead of the February 9 parliamentary elections, political parties in Kosovo have initiated a competition to enlist public figures based on their social media following and fame rather than academic or political qualifications. 

Singers, actors, athletes, and social media influencers have become part of electoral candidates’ lists, marking a trend where popularity and number of followers on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok outweigh political experience.

According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, as of 2023 approximately 98.6 percent of households had internet access.

“We live in an era where social media arguably has the greatest influence on people’s decision-making in many areas, including elections,”  Dardan Hasku, a social media expert stated.

“This undoubtedly pushes parties to invest in this direction, whether through presence, paid advertisements, or candidates who are seen as influential on these platforms,” he added.

Political Parties Compete with Public Figures

The current ruling party, Vetëvendosje, LVV, the first to finish a four-year mandate in independent Kosovo history and aiming for another, presented singer Edona Llalloshi in their candidates’ list in December 2024. Llalloshi has over 20 years of experience in the music industry and enjoys widespread public respect and admiration.

Kosovo Prime Minister and leader of Vetëvendosje, Albin Kurt, expressed optimism, claiming they would achieve “a great victory” with her on their side. 

“With Edona, we’ll be even more dedicated to art and culture,” Kurti wrote on his Facebook profile on December 12, 2024.

During the pre-election campaign, Kurti also shared a photo with Lorik Cana, the former captain of Albania’s national football team.

Similarly, the opposition party Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, adopted a comparable approach by involving influencers in pre-election activities.

LDK leader, Lumir Abdixhiku, surprised many by appearing alongside Lumbardh Salihu, winner of the Big Brother Kosovo reality show in 2023. Salihu, the son of a former LVV politician, has now joined LDK.

Abdixhiku also enlisted Lulzim Zhegrova, the father of Edon Zhegrova, a football player for Kosovo’s national football team. A campaign video shows Abdixhiku calling Edon, who congratulates his father for joining LDK.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, enlisted as an MP candidate Ragip Xhaka, the father of another famous footballer, Granit, who plays for the Swiss national team. A video featuring Xhaka, symbolically tied to his jersey number at Bayer Leverkusen, showcases his father Ragip. Xhaka also met with the PDK candidate for prime minister, Bedri Hamza.

In addition to celebrities, political parties have opened their doors to figures from civil society and television debate programs. The AAK party included Arton Demhasaj, a political analyst and Executive Director of the non-governmental organization “Cohu!” and the LVV made room for Gazmir Raci, a regular panelist in a TV debate programme in local broadcaster Klan Kosova. 

Public Figures Not New to Kosovo’s Politics

Involving celebrities in electoral lists is not entirely new in Kosovo with PDK pioneering the practice more than two decades ago.

During the 2001–2004 legislature, PDK included singer and actor Sabri Fejzullahu, marking the first time an artistic figure became part of the Assembly.

Born in 1943 in Podujeva, Fejzullahu’s career began in the 1970s, and he has since become one of the most influential figures in Albanian music.

PDK continued this trend by recruiting several singers and elevating some to roles as leaders and ministers.

Current PDK leader Memli Krasniqi transitioned from his career as a rapper to politics. Through his political activism, he secured multiple terms in the Kosovo Assembly and served as Minister of Culture from February 2011 to December 2014. 

During his term, Krasniqi appointed Genc Prelvukaj, a singer and rapper from the well-known band “Etno Engjujt (Ethno Angels)” as an advisor. Both are now running on PDK’s 2025 parliamentary election list.

Other notable transitions from the arts to politics include the folk singer Labinot Tahiri, who served as an MP with the New Kosovo Alliance, AKR, from 2017 to 2019, and Adriana Matoshi, a well-known actress with several international awards and nominations who became an LVV MP in 2021.

Adem Mikullovci, another actor famous for his role in the 2000s TV comedy series in Kosovo,  ‘Kafeneja jone (Our cafe),’  also joined politics and was elected to the Assembly. Mikullovci, who passed away on September 15, 2020, was a delegate during the historic July 2, 1990 Constitutional Declaration, declared by the Kosovo Assembly at the time, defining Kosovo as a Republic. Kosovo was a province of Serbia within former Yugoslavia and its autonomy had been taken down in 1989.  Kosovo also organized a referendum for independence and sovereignty, held in September 1991. From that moment, a parallel system of organisation was established in Kosovo, following elections held outside the Serbian legal system, in which Ibrahim Rugova was elected President of the Republic of Kosovo and formed a government in exile.

However, this Republic and its Government did not receive international recognition, despite having massive support within Kosovo.

Singer and architecture professor Eliza Hoxha, a standing PDK MP, is also seeking re-election in 2025.

‘Improvised Approach’

With the race among candidates within parties’ lists being “extremely tight and competitive,” Hasku noted that every detail, including social media presence, significantly impacts voter decisions.

“There’s the example of Romania, where an unknown candidate leveraged TikTok to win the presidential election, or Trump’s 2016 victory, which prompted social media platforms to tighten their policies regarding political presence,” Hasku explained.

Dritëro Arifi, a Kosovo-based political expert, argued that including figures from arts, music, and sports in electoral lists reflect an “improvised approach.”

“This is more about quantity, how many recognisable figures a party can include on its list, rather than substance. Nobody discusses the political vision uniting these figures or the objectives they aim to achieve with this policy,” Arifi stated.

According to the Central Election Commission, there are 2,047,148 registered voters in Kosovo. Among them, 209,878 will vote for the first time on February 9, 2025.

Starting on January 9, voting will begin for voters registered outside the country. According to data from the Central Election Commission, the number of eligible voters within Kosovo is 1,970,944, while 104,924 citizens have registered to vote from abroad.

The voting process will take place in 17 embassies and 15 consulates across 19 different countries.

It is the first time Kosovo will hold a regular parliamentary election since declaring independence in 2008. Kosovo has raced through six governments and five different prime ministers with only the current government seeing out a full four-year term.

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