Fragile Kosovo began an uncertain new chapter Monday after the old guard of ex-guerrilla fighters topped snap parliamentary polls but without a majority needed to form a government.
The so-called "war wing" alliance led by the PDK party of President Hashim Thaci claimed victory after taking 34.75 percent of votes, based on the electoral commission's count of 90 percent of ballots in Sunday's polls.
But the nationalist left-leaning Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party also took to the streets to celebrate after doubling its support since the last election in 2014, bagging 26.42 percent of votes.
"It turns out that the number of ballots won cannot decide the winner," said political scientist Belul Beqaj.
He said it remained to be seen if there was "the political will for new coalitions, as the leading (war wing) alliance cannot form a government by itself".
Sunday's vote was just the third general election in Kosovo since it unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Seats were yet to be allocated in the 120-member assembly, 20 of which go to representatives of Kosovo's ethnic minorities, including 10 seats to Serbs.
The country, one of Europe's poorest and youngest, is home to about 1.8 million people who are mostly ethnic Albanian.
- 'Huge challenge' -
Although the war wing topped the polls, its main rivals have vowed not to share power with the PDK, which has long dominated the political scene and is tainted by accusations of abuse of power and corruption.
The party has its roots in the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) that fought Serbian forces in the late 1990s.
Runners-up Vetevendosje could instead try to form a coalition with a centre-right alliance, led by the LDK party, which came third in the polls with around a quarter of votes.
But they would face a "new huge challenge" to reconcile their political platforms, Beqaj said.
For example, the LDK backs a new special court set up to try war crimes allegedly committed by KLA members, while Vetevendosje -- led by former student protest leader Albin Kurti -- opposes it.
The LDK also supports a border demarcation deal with Montenegro, but Vetevendosje has protested against the agreement by hurling tear gas in parliament, fearing Kosovo would lose land.
The EU has made the border deal a prerequisite for Kosovo obtaining visa-free travel in the bloc.
The prospect of Vetevendosje in power is likely to alarm Western countries due to its stance on such issues, analysts say.
- 'Self-serving' -
The war wing's candidate for prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, has also used nationalist rhetoric.
He said EU-brokered talks to "normalise" relations with Belgrade, which have stalled in recent months, should only move forward if Serbia recognises Kosovo -- an unlikely prospect.
Serbia also wants to try Haradinaj for war crimes.
The war wing is nevertheless "ultimately pragmatic, interested mostly in securing (its) own power and maintaining good ties to Western partners," said Florian Bieber, professor of Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz in Austria.
"The continued rule of the PDK of course raises the same problems as elsewhere in the region, the dominance of long entrenched parties which become largely self-serving."
The new special court could announce its indictments later this year, with some speculating that senior PDK members, including President Thaci, could be on the list.
Analysts said the party likely pushed for the snap polls to consolidate its position before the court opens.
Whoever takes power will also have to grapple with high unemployment -- officially at 27.5 percent -- and a "brain drain" that has seen droves of young people leave to find better prospects in Europe.
