Kosovo is heading toward a snap election after political parties failed to agree on a governing majority Wednesday, leading to the dissolution of parliament.

President Vjosa Osmani announced that the election will take place on Dec. 28, bringing Kosovo back to the polls for the seventh time since its independence from Serbia in 2008.

More than nine months have passed since Kosovo held its latest parliamentary election, in which Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling Self-Determination party (VV) won the most votes but fell short of securing the 61-seat majority needed to form a government. Parties have been engaged in talks but failed to meet the Nov. 19 constitutional deadline to form a government.

“Once again, the opposition chose obstruction over responsibility, blocking the will of the majority and preventing Kosovo from moving forward,” Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Liza Gashi, a member of VV, told POLITICO.

Kurti offered to step aside and let his VV colleague, Glauk Konjufca, speaker of the Assembly, take the mandate of prime minister, proposing to serve as deputy PM and foreign minister instead — after Kurti himself failed to form a government on Oct. 26.

In a last-ditch effort, President Osmani gave Konjufca the mandate to propose a Cabinet, which he presented to MPs on Wednesday. But Konjufca’s proposal won only 56 votes in the 120-seat Assembly — falling short of the 61 needed.

The Western Balkan country applied for EU membership in 2022, but remains only a potential candidate: Five member countries still do not recognize Kosovo, and an unresolved, EU-mediated dialogue with Serbia has left Pristina’s accession prospects effectively frozen.

“The reality right now is we don’t even have our application looked at,” Osmani told POLITICO in a recent interview. “It’s somewhere in the drawers of the European Union, but it’s not moving forward.”

The EU and the U.S. have also imposed political sanctions on Kosovo following tension in the northern part of the country where the Serb-minority resides, after Kurti installed Albanian mayors, which was largely seen as provocative.

“The EU is aware of Wednesday’s developments in the Kosovo Assembly and expresses regret over the failure of the political parties, which were unable to overcome the prolonged political deadlock following the February 2025 parliamentary elections,” a Commission spokesperson said.

“The EU stands ready to work with Kosovo authorities and to continue supporting Kosovo on its path towards the EU,” the spokesperson added.