Research carried out by
7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics
7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics
Population: 1.6 million
Head of Government: Prime Minister Albin Kurti
Ruling party/coalition: Vetëvendosje (unable to form government since February 2025 elections)
Last election: February 2025
Next election: 2029 (but snap elections expected much sooner)
Number of registered voters: 2.08 million
Annual salary of member of legislature: EUR 20,664 (excluding benefits)
Year of study: 2025
All parties, regardless of ideology, have distorted recruitment pathways that are shaped by financial and reputational capital of prospective aspirants.
The average expenditure across the 15 candidates interviewed was €9,463, with successful candidates spending on average €12,150, compared to €4,090 among those who were not elected.
Media outlets offer campaign coverage in packages starting at €5,000, and several candidates reported paying political analysts or talk shows to mention their names during debates, with one disclosing a payment of €200.
In a 2024 national poll, nearly one in five citizens reported that political parties or candidates ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ offer jobs, money, or personal favours in exchange for electoral support.
Women candidates perceive higher campaign spending as necessary, where possible, to level the playing field in a male-dominated political arena.
Contrary to the common perception that campaign expenditures end on election day, candidates' financial obligations often extend well beyond the certification of results during "thank you tours" which help to maintain visibility and political goodwill in anticipation of early elections.
Less than 5% of aspirants surveyed received financial backing from their political party to run campaigns.
Population: 1.6 million
Head of Government: Prime Minister Albin Kurti
Ruling party/coalition: Vetëvendosje (unable to form government since February 2025 elections)
Last election: February 2025
Next election: 2029 (but snap elections expected much sooner)
Number of registered voters: 2.08 million
Annual salary of member of legislature: EUR 20,664 (excluding benefits)
Year of study: 2025
Key Findings
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Context
- Kosovo employs an open list proportional representation system for electing its national legislature, the Assembly of Kosovo, which comprises 120 members serving a four-year term. The entire territory of Kosovo functions as a single electoral constituency, ensuring that representation reflects the political preferences of voters across the country. Voters cast their ballots not only for a political party or entity—such as a coalition, citizens’ initiative, or independent candidate—but can also express a preference for up to ten individual candidates from the list of their chosen entity. This preferential voting allows voters to influence the order in which candidates are elected from party lists.
- The law includes provisions to promote gender equality in political representation. Each candidate list must include at least 30% of candidates from each gender, with alternating placement in groups of three. Moreover, as an incentive to strengthen inclusive political participation, the CEC allocates additional public funds to political entities that elect more women than the minimum required quota.
- Political entities are required to submit annual and quarterly financial reports, while also maintaining detailed records of payments, contributions, and in-kind donations. Parties failing to meet these obligations - those not submitting reports within the prescribed timelines, failing to issue receipts, or obstructing access to financial documentation – can be subject to legal sanctions and financial penalties.
Expenditure dynamics
- While the formal criteria often mention integrity, professionalism, gender balance, and representation, in practice, recruitment is shaped less by long-term party activism and more by external prominence, financial resources, and leader endorsement. This reflects a broader trend of “ready-made” political figures entering politics on the strength of visibility or wealth, rather than through gradual political socialisation.
- Interviews with candidates reveal three dominant areas of campaign spending: direct engagement with citizens, digital outreach, and election-day logistics.
- Survey data suggests a spending threshold around €5-7,000, above which election prospects significantly improve, which places participants with fewer financial resources at a disadvantage, regardless of their political affiliation.
- Interviews with the candidates suggest that women often feel a need to spend more money to improve their chances of victory. Several female interviewees noted that they had to compensate for limited party support and overcome gender biases by investing heavily in their own campaigns.
- Post-election expenses highlight how campaign-related financial pressures do not dissipate immediately but create lingering economic burdens, even for those who secure a parliamentary seat.
Funding sources
- Successful candidates combined personal funds with external contributions, suggesting that candidates who were able to broaden their funding base – by tapping donors or family networks – fared better.
- Candidates who have held positions of executive power, such as directors at municipalities or ministers at the government, can leverage state or institutional resources, public visibility, and established networks long before the official campaign period. These advantages allow them to consolidate support, shape public perception, and mobilise resources more effectively.
Impacts
- The lack of financial support from parties and the high cost of media exposure, including advertising, public relations, and social media promotion, as key obstacles to successful youth participation.
- Most candidates perceived financial cost as a significant barrier to women’s political participation. Female aspirants often rely on personal savings or direct family support to finance their campaigns. Companies frequently prefer to support male candidates who are seen as able to “return the investment".
- High campaign and political activity expenditures create barriers to broad citizen participation, favours candidates with substantial financial resources, and reduces political pluralism. An expensive political system increases the risk of dependence on narrow economic interests, exacerbates gender and social inequalities in representation, and undermines public trust in the democratic process and political institutions.
Recommendations
- Guarantee the independence and resources of auditors to review financial reports submitted by individual candidates and strengthen enforcement of spending caps by applying stricter, more consistent penalties for underreporting and illicit financing, making audits a genuine deterrent against malpractice rather than a formality.
- Support young candidates through training, mentorship, and bursaries that reduce dependence on personal wealth. Require parties to dedicate part of their public financing to youth engagement and political participation, ensuring young voices are systematically included in political life.
- Civil society should intensify efforts to raise public awareness on the influence of money in politics by monitoring and making public candidates’ expenditures, particularly on social media. Regular reporting, fact-checking, and data-driven campaigns can inform citizens about excessive spending and clientelist practices, empowering them to demand transparency and accountability from political actors in their everyday interactions with them both during and outside electoral periods.
