Abdixhiku: It is unlikely that I will run for president

2026-04-11 15:20:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The leader of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, described as "speculation" reports that he could be a candidate for president of the country, emphasizing that "it is unlikely that I will nominate myself" for this post.

During a statement to journalists on April 11, Abdixhiku, whose party has 15 seats in the 120-member Parliament, said that he did not discuss the possibility of him becoming the seventh president of Kosovo with the leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement, who is also the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, during their meeting on April 6.

"We didn't talk about names, much less about my name. So, we talked about the two current proposals that are from the Vetëvendosje Movement and yesterday morning I responded that the LDK cannot support a scenario in which all three state positions belong to one political party," Abdixhiku said.

On March 5, the LVV presented two proposals for president: chief diplomat Glauk Konjufca, and MP Fatmire Mullhaxha-Kollçaku.

The LDK leader said that Kosovo needs a president who is unifying, who is good at foreign policy, who opens the doors for Kosovo at international tables, adding that "I believe that Vjosa Osmani has been an excellent candidate."

"No, it is unlikely that I will propose myself because the issue of the president is a consensual issue. So, we need to talk about principles for once. We are not talking about individual accommodations at this stage. Much less about such an important state position. So, we are talking about inter-party interests. Is it possible for the parties to accommodate within a much larger agreement? If not, then we prepare for new elections. But no, this is not personal politics, please. We have not mentioned any names because we have not come to the position that the president should belong to the LDK or not," said Abdixhiku.

He confirmed that he met with the leader of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Bedri Hamza, to see their positions on the president's issue. Meanwhile, he warned that there is a possibility of new meetings with Kurti next week.

Senior figures from the LVV, including the Speaker of the Parliament, who is also the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, have reiterated their position that they hope that the MPs will agree and elect the president, and that the country will not go to elections.

Even before the March 5 session, when two names for president were proposed by the LVV, Kurti had held meetings with the leaders of the LDK and PDK, but no results were achieved. After the March 5 session failed, due to the lack of a quorum, the following day, former President Vjosa Osmani presented a decree to dissolve the Assembly and pave the way for new elections. Osmani himself aimed for a second mandate, but did not secure the necessary support in this regard.

The decree was sent to the Constitutional Court by the Government. The court then issued a ruling, setting April 28 as the deadline for electing the president. If the election of the president fails by this date, the Assembly is automatically dissolved and elections must be held within 45 days.

The Vetëvendosje Movement has convincingly won the early elections of December 28 and enjoys 57 seats in the Assembly, but they are insufficient to elect the president, since at least 80 votes are needed in the 120-member Assembly to finalize this process./ Rel