After the session was adjourned, Kurti seeks a meeting with Hamza to discuss the candidates

Albin Kurti said he expects to meet with Bedri Hamza, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, to determine which PDK lawmaker will receive the support of the Vetëvendosje Movement for the post of deputy speaker of the Assembly.

The issue returned to the forefront after Vlora Çitaku’s election to the post was blocked, a development followed by the PDK’s departure from the session.

Kurti said Çitaku had consistently voted against initiatives and candidates proposed by the LVV. According to him, last year she called for the withdrawal of Albulena Haxhiu, while this year she opposed the candidacy of Feride Rushiti. He also mentioned the boycott of the vote to elect Haxhiu as speaker of the Assembly and Çitaku’s warning that she would also boycott the election of the president.

“You know that last year Çitaku had called for Albulena Haxhiu to withdraw, this year for Feride Rushiti to withdraw, the day before yesterday she boycotted the vote for Haxhiu as speaker of the Assembly and at the same time announced that she would also boycott the presidential election. This means that we will definitely vote for a PDK lawmaker for deputy speaker, as well as one from the LDK, but you know the rulings; it is not necessary for it to be a single specific name. I hope they will be constructive, as we were last year. In a meeting with Hamza, we could clarify which lawmaker could be voted for,” Kurti said.

The acting prime minister stressed that the LVV would definitely vote for one PDK lawmaker and one LDK lawmaker for the posts of deputy speakers of the Assembly. He added that, based on a Constitutional Court ruling from last year, it was not necessary for only one specific name to be voted on for these positions.

Kurti acknowledged that he had not yet sent Hamza an official invitation, but said he intended for them to meet, talk and review the candidates’ names.

“I have not sent an invitation yet. I want us to meet, talk and discuss the names there,” he said.

According to Kurti, the meeting is in the PDK’s interest, as the party needs the LVV’s votes to elect its deputy speaker of the Assembly. On the other hand, he said the LVV could elect the president even if PDK lawmakers voted against the candidate or did not take part in the process.

“I believe the PDK should not have abandoned the process of constituting the Assembly. I hope it comes on Sunday, so that we can also elect the other four deputy speakers and proceed with the government and the presidential election. I reiterate that we must avoid new elections, which are unnecessary, repetitive and costly, and for this I need a political agreement. I am sorry that the PDK chairman has not responded to a meeting; he has made this public, but I believe we need a meeting. The PDK needs the VV’s votes to elect its deputy speaker. For the VV to elect the president, it needs the PDK not to boycott the process—or even to vote against the candidate. They need our vote in favor; a vote against also works for us,” Kurti said.

He described the abandonment of the process of constituting the Assembly as regrettable, saying that the session of 11.09.2026 had been an opportunity to complete the process.

“It is regrettable that this time we are not even meeting and that today we have seen the abandonment of the process of constituting the Assembly,” Kurti said.

He recalled that political parties had previously described the constitution of the Assembly as urgent and had stated that no one should leave the session before the process was completed.

“You know that earlier they said it was urgent, that we had to enter the session and not leave until we had constituted the Assembly. Today was an opportunity to do that, but that opportunity was missed,” he said.

Nevertheless, Kurti believes that a political agreement can still be reached and that the process can be completed on Sunday.

“It is not too late. We are late, but it is not too late. If we do this on Sunday, we will nevertheless consider that, overall and together, we were successful,” the LVV chairman said.

Kurti, who was among the last to leave the Assembly building, did not say whether he would take part in Saturday’s march, planned ahead of the final decision in The Hague. Earlier in the morning, he had also avoided answering the same question, saying he would respond later in the day.