Newsletters
Kosovo’s ruling Vetevendosje party expressed optimism Wednesday that an agreement could be reached with the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to elect a new president and avoid another snap election.
Vetevendosje deputy leader Glauk Konjufca said he believed the next meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku could focus on concrete names for the presidency.
“I consider that there is a great probability of having a new president, an agreement on a president,” Konjufca said.
“Vetevendosje is ready, Prime Minister Kurti is ready. We have names, but I am sorry, I will not share them with you because then the negotiation process would lose its meaning,” he added.
Kurti and Abdixhiku are expected to meet this week after two previous rounds of talks in recent weeks.
Both sides have said those meetings focused more on the “principles” of a possible deal that could prevent another snap election, which would be Kosovo’s fourth in less than two years.
Kosovo has faced three elections in less than two years, with successive parliaments collapsing amid deep political divisions.
Kurti’s Vetevendosje topped the last election in June with enough support to govern but still requires a two-thirds majority to elect a new president.
That has left Kurti in talks with opposition parties, but the sides have not yet agreed on a candidate.
The political deadlock deepened after a constitutional deadline to elect parliament’s speaker expired in early August.
Rival lawmakers have threatened legal action over Kurti’s request for more time to negotiate, and it remains unclear whether his request to delay the speaker’s election will be allowed to proceed.
Lawmakers have failed for three weeks to elect new parliamentary leadership, creating a fresh institutional logjam.
The provisional parliament speaker, Avni Dehari of Vetevendosje, has refused to resume the inaugural session that began Aug. 6.
Vetevendosje has refused to submit a name for speaker, saying it first wants an agreement with other parties on the election of a new president.
Parliament’s rules require the provisional speaker to invite lawmakers to a session every 48 hours until a speaker is elected.
However, the wider crisis that led to the June 7 election remains unresolved.
Parties still need to agree on the election of a new president within two months of the inauguration of the new assembly, or another election will be triggered.
1 min read
Two other opposition parties, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), have rejected Kurti’s calls for further meetings.
Their lawmakers have instead held daily makeshift sessions in the parliamentary chamber.
That leaves the LDK as the only opposition party that could strike a deal with Vetevendosje over the presidency.
Kurti is likely to secure a simple majority in the assembly to form a new government by again relying on support from lawmakers representing ethnic minority communities.
“As far as I am aware, there is still no exact date for the new meeting,” Konjufca said, referring to expected talks between Kurti and Abdixhiku.
But he added: “They will meet to propose concrete names, and I believe that the new president of Kosovo will derive from those names.”
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
