Albulena Haxhiu: Session to constitute Kosovo’s new parliamentary composition to be held in early August

Speaking to reporters, Kosovo’s acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, said that the session to constitute Kosovo’s new parliamentary composition, elected in the June 7 elections, will be held in early August.

Haxhiu said that because the 60-day deadline for electing the president begins after the Kosovo Assembly is constituted, she had decided to give parties time to discuss the issue of the president.

It was precisely the failure of parties to reach a consensus months ago on a new president for the country that prompted the holding of extraordinary parliamentary elections.

“The constitutional deadline is until August 7, and there will be a constitutive session in early August. I promise you that next week you will know the exact date and the exact time,” Haxhiu told reporters.

On July 10, two days after the parliamentary election results were certified, Vetëvendosje Movement leader Albin Kurti held meetings with the leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the Alliance declined the invitation from acting Prime Minister Kurti.

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Bedri Hamza, said after the meeting with Kurti that his party would remain in opposition.

Meanwhile, LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku announced that discussions would continue.

However, on July 15, Abdixhiku said he was obliged to suspend discussions with Kurti on forming the new institutions due to a party initiative to remove him as leader of the LDK.

Abdixhiku warned that the country risks potentially being left without institutions and holding new elections in the autumn.

Haxhiu described Kurti’s effort to form the new institutions as serious, saying it was continuing.

“Prime Minister Kurti has invited political parties for this purpose, but the LDK has suspended negotiations, while the PDK has had its own position and the Alliance did not respond positively to the invitation. There can be no obligation to attend these meetings, but it is very important, for the sake of Kosovo’s citizens and our state itself, that maximum efforts are made to find a solution. No one wants extraordinary elections in Kosovo because they would not solve anything,” Haxhiu said.

The June 7 vote was the third parliamentary election Kosovo had held in less than a year and a half.

According to the certified results, Kurti’s ruling LVV party won 53 seats. The PDK won 22 seats, the LDK 18 seats and the Alliance seven seats.

Sixty-one votes are needed in the 120-seat Assembly to constitute the Assembly and elect the Government.

Kurti’s party, together with parties from non-Serb minority communities, has the necessary numbers for these two processes. However, a political agreement is needed for the president, as the presence of 80 lawmakers is required in the first two rounds of voting.

With a possible agreement with the LDK, which has 18 lawmakers, at least 81 votes would be secured, enough to elect the new president, provided that at least 80 of them remained in the chamber.

If the president is not elected within 60 days of the day the Assembly is constituted, the legislature is dissolved and the country heads to new elections.

If the country goes to the polls again, they would be the fourth parliamentary elections since the beginning of 2025./REL