Although there are still ten days left of the constitutional deadline for electing a president, representatives of political parties have not started discussions among themselves about the candidate. Vetëvendosje did not talk about this, and one opposition party said that this is the case when the entities should build a bloc against the ruling coalition.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti has not yet begun talks with political parties on the issue of the president, despite his previous announcement that he will do so as soon as the 2026 budget is passed.
The day before, the Parliament approved the budget, and the Vetëvendosje Movement did not indicate when talks on a presidential candidate are expected to begin. The head of the party’s parliamentary group, Arbërie Nagavci, did not provide an answer either.
Based on the constitutional deadline, the head of state must be elected no later than March 4th.
President Vjosa Osmani has expressed her intention to run for another term, but has not stated whether she has secured the necessary votes to be re-elected.
The party from which Osmani came has not clearly stated whether they will support him.
The head of the parliamentary group of this party, Jehona Lushaku-Sadriu, said that the answer can only be known after all the candidacies are formalized. “As long as we do not have concrete names, a competition with concrete names, we cannot give positions. However, the position of president is very important for each political party and for us. So with the greatest dedication we will give our contribution”, she told Kosovapress, but also mentioned the previous position on Osmani. “Over the past years we have often spoken about Mrs. Osmani, about her role. We have criticized her for so long that we thought that she was not a guardian of the Constitution or even of the climate between political parties. She was one-sided”.
This LDK official said that so far there has been no initiative for inter-party discussions about the presidential candidate. “The numbers are clear in the Assembly, each has its own parliamentary power. Political parties within the parliament would have to have a discussion about the post of president. The ideal would be to find a consensual president and have him pass as a result of a political agreement made between political parties. Yes, based on the power we have within the parliament, we welcome any invitation to discuss names”, said Lushaku. “At the same time, normally we also have our own names that we think of proposing as a political party, but until then we are waiting for the consultative phase and then decide on the concrete names, what our position is”.
But the head of the AAK parliamentary group, Besnik Tahiri, said that he has extended invitations to the two main opposition parties to speak on this topic.
He said that if the three parties do not come together for the president, there is a risk that they will spend the entire mandate separately. “As an opposition bloc, we will either build on this launch, or we will be broken. It is totally problematic that we are entering the last week without a serious discussion about what we will do,” Tahiri said on Friday, on KTV’s “Interaktiv”.
And, in PDK, individual MPs have declared against Osmani’s re-election and have expressed their willingness to support a consensual candidate.
Vetëvendosje will not be able to elect the president without an agreement with the opposition, as a quorum of at least 80 MPs is required in the first two rounds of voting. Kurti has said he is ready to talk to other entities, whether to re-elect Osmani or another consensual candidate.
Analyst Basri Muja says political parties need to find common ground on the president and avoid elections. “Her readiness for another term is a clear political signal, but this remains a process that above all depends on agreement within the parliamentary majority and the ability to secure the necessary votes. It is important that the process is completed within the constitutional deadlines in order to preserve institutional stability and avoid unnecessary electoral scenarios, which I think there is still time to avoid,” Muja said.
This week, the Speaker of the Assembly, Albulena Haxhiu, said that she is awaiting the candidacies for president, in order to convene a session to elect him or her. She stressed that the entire procedure must be concluded by March 4, but reminded that she cannot act without candidates who also deposit preliminary supporting signatures. “As soon as I have the signatures from the candidates, because you know that there must be 30 signatures from two candidates, we will convene the session and proceed with it. First of all, there must be meetings with all political parties that are represented in the Assembly of Kosovo in order to address responsibilities,” Haxhiu said.
According to the Constitution, the election of the president must take place no later than 30 days before the end of the current president’s term. Osmani was elected president on April 4, 2021, and took office the day after. Failure to elect a head of state imposes early elections. (RFE)