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Vetëvendosje
Vetëvendosje (Albanian: Lëvizja Vetëvendosje, lit. 'Self-Determination Movement', LVV or VV) is a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Kosovo. It is a member of the Progressive Alliance and the Socialist International, and an observer in the Party of European Socialists.
Vetëvendosje was founded in 2005 as a grassroots, anti-establishment, and pro-independence movement. It gained its initial prominence with protests against the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and it later protested against the process of negotiations between the Kosovar Albanians delegations and Serbia over Kosovo's independence, claiming that the Kosovar Albanian right to self-determination was not subject to Serbia's approval. A major turning point for Vetëvendosje's position in Kosovo's politics took place in 2010, when the movement expanded its activity and registered as a citizen initiative at the Central Election Commission and ran for the 2010 Kosovan parliamentary election, where it established itself as the third-largest political party in Kosovo.
Owing to its left-wing stance, Vetëvendosje has been described as a populist anti-establishment movement that shows hostility towards Kosovo's politicians on one hand, and international actors that have executive power over Kosovo on the other. It promotes a socialist and welfare-oriented public order, political and civil freedoms, as well as internal and local self-governance and self-determination. On the other hand, Vetëvendosje supports policies to strengthen Kosovo's statehood, including the strengthening of the rule of law, police, and military, which from a traditional sense would be considered right-wing ideas. Despite its sovereignist stance, it still considers that Kosovo should eventually unify with Albania via a referendum, as an expression of the will of the people of Kosovo. They have also been described as an Albanian nationalist movement, with their views being mainly framed based on Albanian history and perceived injustices done by the Serbian state to the people of Kosovo. They see all citizens of Kosovo, including Kosovo Serbs, as victims of Serbia's aggression. The party has no relation to the former Kosovar branch of the SKJ.
Vetëvendosje had its best result ever winning 58 seats (with Vjosa Osmani's Guxo list) in the 2021 election and became the biggest party. In February 2025 it fell to 48 seats and could not form a government, causing a year-long Assembly deadlock with Albin Kurti as caretaker Prime Minister.
In the ensuing December 2025 snap election, Vetëvendosje won decisively with 57 seats. This enabled it to form a government, and in February 2026 the Assembly confirmed Kurti as Prime Minister for a third term (with minority-party support), ending the deadlock.
Vetëvendosje has its roots in the 1997-founded Kosova Action Network (KAN), a grassroots group promoting active citizenry and direct political participation of the masses. KAN was founded in the United States by a group of international activists that supported the 1997 student protests in Kosovo against the occupation of the campus of the University of Pristina by the Yugoslav Police. During the Kosovo War, KAN participated in documenting war crimes and during 1999 and 2000 KAN campaigned for the release of Albanian prisoners of war held by Serbia. In 2003, KAN moved its headquarters to Kosovo. On 10 June 2004, KAN activists led by Albin Kurti protested against the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), fiercely criticizing its 'undemocratic' character, due to its lack of accountability to Kosovar citizens.
On 12 June 2005, KAN activists wrote the slogan "Jo Negociata – VETËVENDOSJE!" (Albanian for "No negotiations – SELF-DETERMINATION!") on the walls of UNMIK, marking the official transformation of KAN to Vetëvendosje. This was followed by the establishment of Vetëvendosje centers in most municipalities of Kosovo and in countries with a significant Albanian diaspora. On 25 July 2005, Vetëvendosje activists distributed copies of the UN Resolution 1514 in front of the UNMIK headquarters to "remind" it that Kosovo's right to independence was guaranteed by that resolution.
Criticizing UNMIK would become a central theme of Vetëvendosje's activities in the following years leading up to Kosovo's independence. They attempted to delegitimize UNMIK in front of the people of Kosovo by calling it an undemocratic neo-colonial regime whose employees were unelected but nevertheless took executive decisions. They blamed UNMIK for Kosovo's market being flooded by Serbian goods and for the unemployment that resulted from the public enterprises privatization process overseen by UNMIK. In other activities, Vetëvendosje activists opposed the decentralization of local government along ethnic lines and demanded the return of the bodies of missing persons from the Kosovo War, as well as an official apology from Serbia for its crimes committed during the Kosovo War.
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Vetëvendosje
Vetëvendosje (Albanian: Lëvizja Vetëvendosje, lit. 'Self-Determination Movement', LVV or VV) is a social democratic and democratic socialist political party in Kosovo. It is a member of the Progressive Alliance and the Socialist International, and an observer in the Party of European Socialists.
Vetëvendosje was founded in 2005 as a grassroots, anti-establishment, and pro-independence movement. It gained its initial prominence with protests against the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and it later protested against the process of negotiations between the Kosovar Albanians delegations and Serbia over Kosovo's independence, claiming that the Kosovar Albanian right to self-determination was not subject to Serbia's approval. A major turning point for Vetëvendosje's position in Kosovo's politics took place in 2010, when the movement expanded its activity and registered as a citizen initiative at the Central Election Commission and ran for the 2010 Kosovan parliamentary election, where it established itself as the third-largest political party in Kosovo.
Owing to its left-wing stance, Vetëvendosje has been described as a populist anti-establishment movement that shows hostility towards Kosovo's politicians on one hand, and international actors that have executive power over Kosovo on the other. It promotes a socialist and welfare-oriented public order, political and civil freedoms, as well as internal and local self-governance and self-determination. On the other hand, Vetëvendosje supports policies to strengthen Kosovo's statehood, including the strengthening of the rule of law, police, and military, which from a traditional sense would be considered right-wing ideas. Despite its sovereignist stance, it still considers that Kosovo should eventually unify with Albania via a referendum, as an expression of the will of the people of Kosovo. They have also been described as an Albanian nationalist movement, with their views being mainly framed based on Albanian history and perceived injustices done by the Serbian state to the people of Kosovo. They see all citizens of Kosovo, including Kosovo Serbs, as victims of Serbia's aggression. The party has no relation to the former Kosovar branch of the SKJ.
Vetëvendosje had its best result ever winning 58 seats (with Vjosa Osmani's Guxo list) in the 2021 election and became the biggest party. In February 2025 it fell to 48 seats and could not form a government, causing a year-long Assembly deadlock with Albin Kurti as caretaker Prime Minister.
In the ensuing December 2025 snap election, Vetëvendosje won decisively with 57 seats. This enabled it to form a government, and in February 2026 the Assembly confirmed Kurti as Prime Minister for a third term (with minority-party support), ending the deadlock.
Vetëvendosje has its roots in the 1997-founded Kosova Action Network (KAN), a grassroots group promoting active citizenry and direct political participation of the masses. KAN was founded in the United States by a group of international activists that supported the 1997 student protests in Kosovo against the occupation of the campus of the University of Pristina by the Yugoslav Police. During the Kosovo War, KAN participated in documenting war crimes and during 1999 and 2000 KAN campaigned for the release of Albanian prisoners of war held by Serbia. In 2003, KAN moved its headquarters to Kosovo. On 10 June 2004, KAN activists led by Albin Kurti protested against the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), fiercely criticizing its 'undemocratic' character, due to its lack of accountability to Kosovar citizens.
On 12 June 2005, KAN activists wrote the slogan "Jo Negociata – VETËVENDOSJE!" (Albanian for "No negotiations – SELF-DETERMINATION!") on the walls of UNMIK, marking the official transformation of KAN to Vetëvendosje. This was followed by the establishment of Vetëvendosje centers in most municipalities of Kosovo and in countries with a significant Albanian diaspora. On 25 July 2005, Vetëvendosje activists distributed copies of the UN Resolution 1514 in front of the UNMIK headquarters to "remind" it that Kosovo's right to independence was guaranteed by that resolution.
Criticizing UNMIK would become a central theme of Vetëvendosje's activities in the following years leading up to Kosovo's independence. They attempted to delegitimize UNMIK in front of the people of Kosovo by calling it an undemocratic neo-colonial regime whose employees were unelected but nevertheless took executive decisions. They blamed UNMIK for Kosovo's market being flooded by Serbian goods and for the unemployment that resulted from the public enterprises privatization process overseen by UNMIK. In other activities, Vetëvendosje activists opposed the decentralization of local government along ethnic lines and demanded the return of the bodies of missing persons from the Kosovo War, as well as an official apology from Serbia for its crimes committed during the Kosovo War.
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