Agim Aliçkaj in the US warns: Deadlock could return over the vote for President

The results of the June 7 elections have sealed Vetëvendosje Movement as the winning force. After their certification, the process of constituting the Assembly and forming Kosovo’s new government is expected to begin, with Albin Kurti at the head of the executive.

In a statement to “Bota sot,” Albanian activist in the US Agim Aliçkaj said that the June 7 vote confirmed for the third consecutive time the winner and the legitimacy of LVV’s governance together with its partners.

According to him, the opposition emerged defeated and received fewer votes than the winning coalition, while any attempt to come to power with the help of the Serbian List would, in his assessment, be harmful to state interests.

“The unnecessary June 7 elections, caused by Kosovo’s opposition, were carried out successfully. The election results confirmed for the third time in a row the will of the people of Kosovo for Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his coalition of LVV, Guxo, Alternativa and PSHDK to lead Kosovo for another full mandate. They are the true winners and there are no others.

The real losers are PDK, LDK and AAK, which together have fewer votes than LVV and its coalition. The hopes of some misguided opposition politicians to take power with the help of the hostile organization Lista Srpska were also extinguished. The people did them a favor, because such a thing would be a betrayal of state and national interests,” he said.

Aliçkaj further assessed that the establishment of the new institutions could proceed without difficulty, but raised concern that an obstacle could appear again in the process of electing the President.

“Based on the number of deputies, it is expected that the constitution of Parliament and the Government will be carried out without problem by the winner of the elections, together with the minorities, except for the Serbian List. However, the issue may get stuck again over the election of the President, for which, based on an erroneous decision of the Constitutional Court, it is required that even in the third round of voting 80 deputies be present in the chamber. This creates the possibility of an endless blockage of the state by the losers of the elections.

Prime Minister Kurti declared after the elections that he is ready for cooperation with the opposition parties, which is a good start. Since, as the winner, he is in a more favorable position than the others, it would be good for him to take additional steps toward rapprochement with the opposition in the interest of the state, especially on the issue of electing the President.

Although he is the main victim of low political attacks, a public call from him, addressed to everyone, to stop demeaning rhetoric, slander, lynching and insults against political opponents would further increase his authority among the people,” he stressed.

According to Aliçkaj, the main message the opposition should take from these elections is that the will of the citizens must be respected, while any blockade that he describes as harmful will be punished by the people’s vote.

“The main lesson from these elections for the opposition was clear, if it has ears to hear, eyes to see and a mind to understand: do not play with the will of the people, because the people punish you. If you continue with harmful and senseless blockades, you will never take power from the people.

Unfortunately, the statements of some representatives of the losing parties after the elections are not very encouraging. They are focused on blaming others for their deserved defeat. Claims that the majority of the people and Kosovo’s exemplary diaspora are uneducated and deceived, thus being made responsible for their loss, are wrong, unjust and pathetic. In reality, they are deceiving themselves.

They must finally understand that only the people of Kosovo can decide their political fate. Their hopes that in order to defeat Kurti they would be helped by the wandering former American ambassador, the Serbian lobbyist Grenell, Albania’s outgoing prime minister Edi Rama, and the disoriented former president Vjosa Osmani, proved futile,” he added.

The activist from the US also opposed narratives that, according to him, aim to portray Prime Minister Kurti as problematic in relation to the internationals and strategic issues, calling them unfounded.

He also addressed the issue of the President, emphasizing that his election should be seen as a shared responsibility of political entities and not as an instrument for institutional blockage.

“Their attempts to portray Kurti as anti-American are likewise futile and without any basis. Presenting acceptance of investment in ‘American gas’ as a condition for electing the President is a miserable attempt to justify the continuation of blockades. Investments should be based on economic interest and not on love for America.

Finding a suitable candidate for President of Kosovo is the duty of all political parties and must no longer be used by anyone to block the functioning of the state. Kosovo needs a unifying President, one who does not belong to any party, who is capable, educated and a dignified representative at the international level. The proposal of three candidates by the opposition and the voting of one of them by the parliamentary majority represents a real compromise,” he assessed.

In the end, Aliçkaj called on the opposition to abandon its blocking approach and take a more constructive role in the country’s political life.

“It is high time for the opposition to move away from blockades, become a constructive opposition and allow the winner to lead the state. Then it should prepare for the regular elections by offering concrete proposals for the development of the state, declare itself against its own past corruption, against the Serbian association and demands for the partition of Kosovo, against the Serbian List as a terrorist organization, demand the punishment of Serbian criminals and stop being servile to foreigners.

If they want to win the people’s vote for power, they must convince the people of Kosovo that they have changed and that they have become better than Prime Minister Kurti. There is no other way. If they continue with blockades and boycotts, they will end up on the wall of shame in Kosovo’s history. The wise and enlightened people of Kosovo are not afraid and cannot be deceived,” Aliçkaj concluded to “Bota sot.”