Meeting between Kurti and Abdixhiku ends/ No consensus on the post of president

2026-03-03 12:35:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

"We still don't have the solution, but we will let you know soon," said Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, after a meeting with the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, on the election of the country's new president.

According to Kurti, the meeting was "in a constructive atmosphere," while any new developments, he said, will be made public.

Speaking to the media near the Kosovo Assembly, LDK MP Hykmete Bajrami announced that the LDK parliamentary group will meet today.

Other LDK MPs who spoke to the media, Kujtim Shala and Anton Quni, signaled that a decision on the post of president will be made at that meeting.

The meeting comes as the constitutional deadline for concluding the presidential election process approaches, and after the first round of talks between Kurti and Abdixhiku, when no consensus was reached between the parties.

After the first meeting, Abdixhiku stated that no consensus had been reached.

"There were no names, no proposals, no will for consensus. Impositions are not the adequate solution for the LDK," he said after the March 2 meeting, adding that the LDK remains open to further discussions, but skeptical of the idea of ??each party going to the Assembly with its own candidate.

Abdixhiku had emphasized that for the LDK, competing with several candidates is a "procedure destined to fail" and could lead the country towards new elections.

On the other hand, Kurti, before yesterday's meeting, had stated that to elect the president "someone is needed who can provide 80 votes", without mentioning specific names.

He has previously said that Murat Jashari, the son of Rifat Jashari and a member of Adem Jashari's family, would be a suitable figure for the post of president, emphasizing that the country needs a personality who, according to him, "can withstand storms" in the current geopolitical circumstances. However, Murat Jashari has made it known that he has no ambitions for this position.

The current president, Vjosa Osmani, has expressed her desire for a second term, but the Vetëvendosje Movement, which had proposed her in the first term, has not mentioned her name as a candidate. Opposition parties have criticized Osmani for what they say is bias in favor of the government.

In recent weeks, former Minister of Education Arsim Bajrami has also expressed his willingness to run, although without clear support from other parties.

According to the Constitution of Kosovo, to nominate a candidate for president, at least 30 signatures of MPs are needed. The Vetevendosje Movement has 57 MPs, while no other party has 30 votes on its own.

To elect the president, at least 80 votes are required in one of the first two rounds of voting, or 61 votes in the third round, out of a total of 120 deputies in the Assembly. If the Assembly fails to elect the president within the constitutional deadlines, the country faces the dissolution of the Assembly and early parliamentary elections. /REL