The meeting lasting more than three hours on Tuesday between Albin Kurti, leader of the ruling Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV), and Lumir Abdixhiku, chairman of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), produced no concrete result. According to political analyst Donika Emini, the talks raised more questions than they answered.
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This was the second meeting between acting Prime Minister Kurti and the LDK leader as part of efforts to secure an agreement on establishing Kosovo’s new institutions following the June elections.
The two leaders failed to reach a political agreement, even though only two days remained before the session to constitute the new Assembly. Nevertheless, they described the discussions as positive and indicated that dialogue could continue.
In a statement to Radio Free Europe (RFE), Donika Emini of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group said the meeting did not produce any concrete political agreement but instead raised more questions than it answered.
Kurti has attempted to hold talks with all Albanian opposition parties. However, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance have rejected his invitations to meet, opting to remain in opposition.
Under these circumstances, the LDK remains Kurti’s only alternative for the agreement needed to pull Kosovo out of the political and institutional crisis that has lasted for almost two years.
LVV won 53 seats in the Assembly. Taking into account Kurti’s cooperation to date with parties representing non-Serb communities, which hold 10 seats, he is expected to secure at least the 61 votes needed to constitute the Assembly and form the new government.
The situation is more complicated when it comes to electing Kosovo’s new president, as a valid vote requires the presence of 80 lawmakers in the 120-seat Assembly.
If an agreement is reached with the LDK, which won 18 seats, the number of votes would rise to at least 81. That would be enough to elect the new president, provided that at least 80 lawmakers remain in the Assembly chamber.
The two positions included in the discussions—the speaker of the Assembly and the president—have added further uncertainty surrounding a possible agreement.
The presidency appears to be the most sensitive issue in the negotiations between Kurti and Abdixhiku. Following Tuesday’s meeting, Kurti reiterated several times that the position should be held by a consensus figure, although both leaders said they had not discussed the post.
According to Kurti, the next president should not become a fourth center of power or have a party-political profile, meaning that the person should not be “involved in daily controversies.”
Emini told RFE that if this remains Kurti’s criterion, then “it automatically takes Vjosa Osmani out of the equation” as the LDK’s presidential candidate.
The analyst also noted that Osmani herself had previously said she did not want the establishment of institutions to be held hostage by ambitions for the presidency.
According to Emini, Kosovo’s former president may also “seek the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since she has presented foreign policy as a defining feature of her political identity.”
After the meeting, Abdixhiku indicated that the LDK was not interested in taking over the leadership of the Kosovo Assembly, describing the position as “ceremonial.”
Emini disputed the LDK leader’s assessment, arguing that the speaker’s responsibilities are not limited to a ceremonial role.
She stressed that, particularly during institutional crises, the speaker of the Assembly exercises important constitutional powers. The position becomes even more significant if the president is absent or if the president’s election is delayed.
Constituent Session
The session to constitute the new Assembly has been scheduled for Thursday morning. The ruling party is not expected to encounter difficulties in completing this process successfully, but the question is whether time is running out to reach a broader agreement that would also include the presidency.
According to Emini, there is no doubt that the Assembly will be constituted. The uncertainty concerns whether a comprehensive political agreement exists and, more specifically, whether LVV and the LDK also have the votes needed to elect the president.
She warned that even if LVV and the LDK reach an agreement, it remains uncertain whether the presidential candidate will have sufficient support because of internal divisions within the LDK.
Abdixhiku does not enjoy strong support within his party. He has faced two confidence votes this year, most recently last week, when he narrowly survived the process and was reconfirmed as LDK leader.
For some time, around seven of the LDK’s 18 lawmakers in the Kosovo Assembly have sought their leader’s removal.
If the new president is not elected within the next two months, Kosovo would proceed directly to early parliamentary elections. They would be the fourth elections in two years.
Emini said that, without a clear strategy for this phase as well, the country risks entering the same cycle again: institutions established only partially, no solution for the presidency, another institutional deadlock and, ultimately, new elections.
According to her, such a development would mean another politically wasted year for Kosovo. / RFE
