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'President of Kosovo'/Civil society calls on parties to compromise: Avoid early elections
2026-02-25 18:40:37 / KOSOVA
Ten civil society organizations in Kosovo have called on parliamentary parties in a letter to put civic interests before party interests and reach an agreement on the election of the country's new president, in order to avoid another round of parliamentary elections.
Kosovo must have a new president by March 4th at the latest, according to the Constitution, as the current president, Vjosa Osmani, ends her term in April.
Osmani does not appear to have the necessary support in the Assembly to be re-elected, while the main political parties have not yet reached any agreement on a specific candidate.
In their letter, civil society organizations urged parties to “engage seriously and responsibly in constructive inter-party dialogue; to place civic interest above party calculations; to contribute to reaching an agreement that ensures full institutional functioning.”
Recently, the leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, met with opposition leaders, Bedri Hamza of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and Lumir Abdixhiku of the Democratic League of Kosovo, to talk about this issue.
But they have not reached agreement on any specific candidate, even though the deadline is approaching.
To run for president of the country, a candidate must secure at least 30 signatures from MPs, while two-thirds of the votes in the 120-seat Assembly are needed to win that position.
The quorum is reached with 80 deputies. If in the first two rounds of voting a candidate does not secure 80 votes, then in the third round of voting it is sufficient to have 61 of them.
Although the role of the president of Kosovo is ceremonial, not electing him on time costs the state.
Failure to elect the country's president before March 4 would plunge the country into a new crisis, prompting early parliamentary elections for the second time in months.
Kosovo faced a political and institutional crisis throughout 2025, which cost it a lack of international funds and delays in passing the budget for the new fiscal year.
Civil society said that, looking at the developments surrounding the presidential vote, "there is a real risk that the country will face early elections again due to the lack of political agreement."
"Given that the country has already gone through an extended period without full institutional stability, any further delay in the full constitution of institutions undermines the democratic functioning of institutions, economic development and citizen trust in the political system ," her letter states.
Democracy Plus, Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF), Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS), GAP Institute, Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), Democracy for Development Institute (D4D), Kosovo Law Institute (KLI), Institute for Development Policy (INDEP), FOL Movement and Kosovo Women's Network (KWN) are the 10 signatory organizations./ REL
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