Amidst calls for Abdixhiku's dismissal/ Signatures for an extraordinary LDK assembly submitted

2026-07-15 16:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Amidst calls for Abdixhiku's dismissal/ Signatures for an extraordinary LDK

The elected MP of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Armend Zemaj, said on Wednesday that the necessary signatures have been collected and submitted to call an extraordinary party assembly, at a time when there have been calls for the dismissal of the party's leader, Lumir Abdixhiku.

While leaving the LDK office in Pristina together with the head of the second branch, Florian Dushi, Zemaj said that the number of signatures submitted was the same as what he had declared days earlier, over 150.

According to the LDK Statute, an extraordinary Assembly can be called at the request of at least 1/3 of the Assembly delegates.

The party assembly is made up of 354 delegates elected in branch assemblies, plus the current LDK president, who is automatically a delegate to the LDK General Assembly.

The collection of the necessary signatures comes after open clashes within the LDK and dissatisfaction with Abdixhiku, after the party came third in the June parliamentary elections, winning 18 seats in the Kosovo Assembly with 120 deputies.

Also, this development is happening at a time when Abdixhiku began talks last week with the leader of the winning party, Albin Kurti of the Vetëvendosje Movement, in an attempt to reach an agreement on the formation of new institutions.

What happened?

After the LDK, which ran on a joint list with former president Vjosa Osmani, failed to achieve convincing electoral results on June 7, voices of dissatisfaction began within the party, which were nothing new, anyway.

In late June, at least two mayors and several branch leaders publicly called for Abdixhiku's resignation, arguing that he should take responsibility for the election result and the lack of significant electoral growth.

Abdixhiku responded to critics with a counter-demand, calling on them to resign.

This is not the first time that Abdixhiku's resignation has been demanded, as a similar incident occurred in January of this year, after the December parliamentary elections.

In January, he survived a vote of confidence that he himself had requested at the party's extraordinary assembly.

However, several party figures had demanded his irrevocable resignation, not agreeing to a vote of confidence. Among them was Hykmete Bajrami, who has irrevocably resigned from the position of party vice-chair.

Before that Assembly, another member of this party, Avdullah Hoti, announced his candidacy for party chairman, but the delegates only discussed Abdixhiku's performance.

The Democratic League of Kosovo is one of the oldest parties in Kosovo, founded in 1989 by Ibrahim Rugova.

It played a key role in the period of peaceful resistance and in the building of the country's democratic institutions. /REL