The possibility that Bedri Hamza may step down as leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has sparked debate about the party’s internal state, relations among its leaders and the direction the main opposition party will take.
The PDK has announced that Hamza has warned he will not run again for chairman in the next internal elections, although no official decision on his resignation has been made so far.
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The issue has emerged during a period of significant political developments in Kosovo, following the adoption of the draft law on the Special Court and the election of Justina Shiroka-Pula as the new president.
Hamza’s position on these developments and his cooperation on institutional matters have raised questions as to whether the announced decision is linked solely to his assessment of his performance at the head of the PDK, or also to discontent and clashes within the party.
Political analysts Gani Qarri and Blerim Burjani spoke to “Bota sot” about the possible reasons for his departure and its consequences for the PDK, offering differing assessments of the leadership crisis and the party’s future.
Qarri: Clashes within the party and relations with Kurti may have played a role
Gani Qarri believes that Hamza’s warning that he will step down from the PDK leadership may have been influenced by recent political developments and his relations with influential figures in the party.
According to him, Hamza’s relationship with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, particularly regarding the draft law on the Special Court and the election of the president, may have led to a deterioration in his relations with other PDK leaders.
“Following Bedri Hamza’s ‘compromise’ with Prime Minister Albin Kurti over the adoption of the draft law on the Special Court and the election of the country’s president, as well as Bedri Hamza extending his hand and exchanging a friendly greeting with Prime Minister Kurti and Glauk Konjufca in Parliament, seemingly without the permission of the party’s powerful figures, it appears that all his already ‘lukewarm’ relations with the actual PDK leadership have been destroyed, leading to Bedri Hamza’s final departure from the PDK, even if, hypothetically, party spokespersons say that only a discussion has taken place within the leadership and that no ‘official’ decision has been made on his departure,” Qarri told “Bota sot”.
Qarri claims that decision-making in the PDK has been strongly influenced by certain groups and figures, which, in his view, has limited the authority of the formal leaders.
In this context, he mentions Sami Lushtaku, whom he describes as a decisively influential figure within the party following the arrests of Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli.
“On the other hand, as is publicly known, the de facto chairman of the PDK, particularly after the arrests of Thaçi and Kadri Veseli by the Special Court, has been Sami Lushtaku, while Bedri Hamza was brought into the PDK by circumstance and, even as a candidate, was challenged from the very beginning of his appointment as head of the party.
Bedri Hamza himself also appears to see himself more in the economic sector and is not particularly devoted to conducting party politics. It is well known, as noted above, that after the arrests of Thaçi and Kadri Veseli, all the other names who formally served as heads of the PDK were unacceptable to Sami Lushtaku and the group from Drenica, and were used only as a formality, to be presented to the membership and the wider public, without any real ability to exercise the function of chairman in this party,” Qarri said.
According to the analyst, these circumstances may have led Hamza to consider leaving for some time. The opening of the internal election process may, in his view, be the moment when this decision becomes concrete.
“These were only some of the aggravating arguments that forced Bedri Hamza to wait impatiently for an opportunity to offer his resignation. Unable to resign immediately, he has for some time publicly announced that, once the internal election process begins, he will submit an irrevocable resignation and will not run again for chairman of this political entity,” he stressed.
Describing the state of the PDK, Qarri speaks of divisions among its figures and the strengthening of factions, which, according to him, are making the party’s future more difficult.
He mentions the political clash between Sami Lushtaku and Ramiz Lladrovci as a sign of broader organizational problems.
“Add to all this the fact that, following the sentencing of Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli by the Special Court in The Hague, the factions within this party have become extremely powerful and have raised their heads even further, while the PDK has entered a total decline with no possibility of a swift and healthy recovery.
Therefore, after several successive shocks, beginning with the outbreak of the open conflict between Sami Lushtaku & Co. and Ramiz Lladrovci, the crisis in the PDK has now reached its peak, and it is clear that the party is in freefall. Together with the LDK and AAK, in the next elections it appears they will compete fiercely with one another to secure the second-to-last place in the ranking of parties participating in Parliament, unless one of these three risks falling below the electoral threshold as well,” Qarri said.
Regarding Hamza’s resignation, Qarri refers to media reports but notes that a final decision has not been officially confirmed.
He also mentions reports that Vlora Çitaku may temporarily take over the party’s leadership, although this possibility has not been made public as an official decision.
“As for Bedri Hamza’s resignation, there are uncontested reports from several public media outlets, although for the time being they have not been officially confirmed by the PDK. They have reported that he personally informed the party leadership that he had submitted an irrevocable resignation from the position of chairman of this political entity, although the PDK appears to have decided to announce it in the coming days.
Meanwhile, following Bedri Hamza’s resignation and the latest developments in the PDK, there is relatively strong internal speculation that the incumbent deputy chairwoman, Vlora Çitaku, has now taken over the temporary leadership of the party. Together with the current members of the PDK leadership, she will lead this entity, which is in deep institutional turmoil, until the next congress and internal elections, which the PDK is expected to hold at the beginning of 2027, provided it does not completely disintegrate and split into several regional factions by then,” Qarri said.
He added that the statement by the PDK’s information office had not fully clarified the uncertainty surrounding Hamza’s future. According to him, in addition to internal party relations, differences over institutional developments may also have influenced the announced decision.
“Thus, as part of this media-political game, the PDK’s Information Office neither confirmed nor denied Mr. Bedri Hamza’s resignation. It merely issued a brief statement saying that, for the time being, there was allegedly no official decision on his resignation, adding that Bedri Hamza had announced that he would resign and would not run again for chairman of the PDK once the party’s internal election process begins.
In addition to his damaged image and poor political record, the latest calls by destructive elements within this party to organize protests and cause unrest are believed to have been a serious concern leading to Bedri Hamza’s ‘premature’ resignation as PDK chairman. This came only a short time after Parliament voted on the law on the Special Court and elected the country’s president—acts that appeared to put things back on track, allowing Kosovo to move unhindered with its state-building agenda and its path toward Euro-Atlantic integration,” he stressed.
In conclusion, Qarri assesses that the situation could have a broader impact, not only on the PDK leadership but also on Hamza’s continued political engagement.
According to him, the divisions and institutional developments could push Hamza to withdraw from politics altogether, not merely from the position of chairman.
“As if all of this were not enough, following the Special Court’s decision, the internal situation in the PDK has turned into a destructive factional earthquake. Meanwhile, the election of the country’s president and the creation of stable governing institutions, through which the LVV and Prime Minister Kurti have secured a full four-year governing mandate in Kosovo—acts that, as is known, the incriminated groups within the PDK have never accepted—have forced Bedri Hamza not only to submit a premature resignation from the formal position of PDK chairman, but perhaps to bid farewell to politics for good. In the PDK, where he not only started by chance but also failed badly in this profession and never came even remotely close to getting it ‘right’!” Qarri concluded to “Bota sot”.
Burjani: The PDK has no more suitable candidate than Hamza
Unlike Qarri, Blerim Burjani views the situation differently. According to him, the PDK faces a lack of suitable candidates for leadership, and Hamza was a more acceptable and moderate figure for the role.
Burjani considers pushing Hamza toward resignation senseless, especially when, in his view, the party is not in an unfavorable political position.
“The PDK is in a leadership crisis, even though Bedri was more acceptable and more normal for leading a party like the PDK. So, it is absurd to push him to resign at a time when the PDK is not doing badly, but is actually in a favorable position,” Burjani told “Bota sot”.
He doubts that the PDK can find a successor who would lead it better than Hamza. He also warns that selecting people with legal problems would damage the party and its image.
“They have no one to propose. Whoever they propose will be of no use. They cannot propose people with problems with law and order; there are plenty of such people in the PDK. If they play games with Hamza, it will be one of the party’s biggest mistakes,” he said.
Regarding Hamza’s political future, Burjani does not expect him to retain an important role in the PDK after leaving its leadership. He compares his possible situation with that of former chairman Memli Krasniqi and believes Hamza could become an MP without much influence on party politics.
“Hamza’s future is like Memli’s—with no future. He may possibly be an MP without influence in PDK politics,” Burjani said.
Nevertheless, the analyst insists that the party currently has no better leadership alternative. He stresses that responsibility for the election results does not lie with Hamza alone, but also with the PDK and its decisions regarding candidates.
“There is no one better than Hamza in the PDK, even though he had lost twice as a candidate for prime minister. But here the party is to blame for nominating someone pointlessly, while knowing full well that nothing will come of it,” Blerim Burjani concluded to “Bota sot”.
