Election of the President of Kosovo/ Kurti: The opposition is blocking the process

2026-04-24 20:55:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Election of the President of Kosovo/ Kurti: The opposition is blocking the

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, and also the leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, accused the two largest opposition parties of blocking the process of electing the new president.

Through a video addressed to citizens, Kurti said that the leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo are behaving “even worse than Fatmir Limaj last year” – referring to the negotiations that failed last year between him and the leader of the Social Democratic Initiative on the constitution of the Assembly.

"Realistically, they are not wanting either power or responsibility for themselves. All they want is for us and me to not have power," Kurti said, referring to the leader of the PDK, Bedri Hamza, and that of the LDK, Lumir Abdixhiku.

Radio Free Europe has reached out to these two parties for comment regarding Kurti's accusations and is awaiting responses.

In the over 5-minute video, Kurti said he has initiated meetings with opposition leaders to achieve the 80 votes needed for president and has made "generous" offers, but they have been rejected.

He repeated the offer made to the LDK, to which he offered the post of deputy prime minister and four ministers. Kurti also offered this party another alternative, the exchange of positions between the speaker and deputy speaker of the Assembly, where Abdixhiku's party would take the post of speaker of parliament. This offer was rejected by Abdixhiku.

Kurti also made an offer to PDK, namely the position of Speaker of the Assembly, in exchange for the position of Deputy Speaker of the legislative body, which PDK currently holds. This offer was also rejected by Hamza, who described it as "frivolous".

Kurti again warned of snap elections if a deal for the president is not reached.

"If we go to the elections in June, and LVV with its partners [Guxo, Alternative for Minorities] does not reach 80 MPs, then we will go to the elections again in the fall or winter. Who benefits from this?" Kurti asked.

He also said that the will of the citizens expressed through the election results on December 28, when his party won 51.1 percent of the vote, must be respected.

"Democracy must be based on the will of the people and the election result, not on political agreements that bypass and violate it. Without respecting the will of the citizens, there can be no political agreement. Meanwhile, the goal is to avoid repeated elections and ensure institutional stability," Kurti said.

According to the Constitution, the president of Kosovo is elected with two-thirds of the votes in the first two rounds or with 61 votes in the third round, but 80 deputies are needed in the chamber for the session to be held.

Therefore, an agreement between parliamentary parties is needed on this issue, given that no party - not even Kurti's ruling party, the Vetevendosje Movement with 57 MPs - has such a large number of MPs in the 120-seat Parliament.

Previous attempts to elect a new president for the country also failed as neither side seemed willing to make concessions.

The ruling party presented two names for president in a session on March 5: Glauk Konjufca, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, and MP Fatmire Mullhaxha-Kollçaku, but the session was not held due to a lack of quorum, after the opposition left the hall. Konjufca himself later stated that he would withdraw his candidacy if the opposition came up with a consensual candidate.

On March 6, former President Vjosa Osmani issued a decree dissolving the Assembly and paving the way for new elections. Osmani herself was aiming for a second term, but failed to secure the necessary support in this regard.

The decree was overturned by the Constitutional Court following an appeal by the Government.

The highest court in Kosovo said the decree had no legal effect and set April 28 as the deadline for electing a president. /REL