Caretaker Prime Minister's party leads Kosovo vote: preliminary results

Preliminary results in Kosovo's parliamentary elections Sunday suggested that caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti's party was nearing 50 percent, potentially ending the country's long-running political deadlock.

The Central Election Commission said Kurti's Vetevendosje (VV) party was projected to win 49.79 percent, after processing about 95 percent of polling stations. These figures suggest VV could secure up to about 56 of the 120 parliamentary seats -- still not enough to govern alone, but stronger than first exit polls predicted.

MPs needed more than 50 sessions to agree on a speaker, but no coalition or government emerged, forcing the country back to the polls.