FLASH NEWS
Kosovo presidential election session fails
2026-03-04 19:03:30 / KOSOVA
Prime Minister Albin Kurti's Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) has nominated Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca for president of Kosovo, and has called on other parties to nominate their own candidate.
Konjufca is the only candidate proposed so far, as the constitutional deadline for electing the president approaches.
The Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Albulena Haxhiu, said that in order to call a session to elect the president, at least two candidates are needed in the race.
"Until we have at least two candidates who have not secured 30 signatures for the presidential race, I cannot call the session to elect the president," said Haxhiu.
She added that we still have "30 hours" until the end of the constitutional deadline for electing a new president.
In proposing Konjufca, LVV said on Facebook that as a political entity "it is convinced that in our country there are many names worthy of this important state position, around whom a consensus could be built to move forward."
"At this stage, new elections would be completely unnecessary," the ruling party said.
The reaction of the opposition parties was immediate.
The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said on Facebook that “the approach of the Vetëvendosje! Movement does not reflect a serious effort to build this consensus.”
According to the LDK, due to the "irresponsible political approach of the VV, the country is heading towards exceeding constitutional deadlines and risks being sent to yet another round of new elections."
From the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), MP Vlora Çitaku said that "it is now clear: Albin Kurti does not seek a solution, but total power."
Çitaku wrote on Facebook that "at a time when Kosovo needs more than ever prudence, unity and state responsibility, he is consciously pushing the country towards a new political crisis."
Sources within the PDK told Radio Free Europe that the party's MPs do not attend the session at all "as long as there are party candidates without a political agreement."
The current president, Vjosa Osmani, expires on April 4, while according to the Constitution, the new president must be elected 30 days before the end of the current president's term.
For days, various names have been mentioned in the media as possible candidates, to which Konjufca and the Minister of Labor, Family and Values of the Liberation War, Andin Hoti, have been added today.
Osmani had previously expressed his willingness to run for another term as head of state.
She was proposed by Vetëvendosje when it was first elected in 2021, but not this time.
Kurti, asked by journalists on March 2 why he is not nominating Osmani, implied that she does not enjoy widespread support, saying that "we need to have 80 people who stay in the hall and vote at a minimum."
"Our absolute priority is avoiding new elections, we must ensure that we do not have 80, but 84 or 85," Kurti said.
During the day, MPs from all parties were seen near the Assembly, gathered in parliamentary group meetings.
The deadline for electing a president ends tomorrow, which increases political pressure on the parliamentary majority to offer a solution.
A candidate must secure two-thirds of the votes of the deputies in the 120-seat Assembly, while the quorum is reached with 80 deputies. If in the first two rounds a candidate does not secure 80 votes, then in the third round of voting it is enough to have 61.
Vetëvendosje said it is ready to enable opposition parties to propose candidates by providing them with the necessary 30 signatures.
According to the Constitution, if the election fails in these three rounds, early parliamentary elections must be held within 45 days.
Today's developments follow a series of meetings in recent days between Prime Minister Kurti and leaders of opposition parties, such as Bedri Hamza of PDK and two consecutive meetings on Monday and Tuesday with Lumir Abdixhiku of LDK.
The meetings ended without any concrete agreement and without consensus between the parties on the name of the presidential candidate./ REL
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