Analysts warn of institutional deadlock: Agreement on president or new elections

The lack of an agreement on the election of a president could push Kosovo toward another institutional blockade. Political experts are calling on the parties to decide as soon as possible whether they will reach a compromise on the head of state or go to new elections.

According to them, if a president is not elected by October 5, Kosovo will be left without a president. Any further delay in establishing functioning institutions could produce additional political and institutional consequences.

Vullnet Bugaqku, a senior researcher at the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, said the process must be concluded before October 4-5.

“This president must be elected before October 4-5. If this does not happen, it will be an unprecedented and dangerous situation because it endangers Kosovo’s national security. For the first time, a state in the European Union would operate without any officeholder…,” Bugaqku said.

He and other experts believe that the parties must not allow the period without fully functioning institutions to continue any further.

Naim Jakaj, a senior researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute, said that if the debate over the president produces no result, the country should go to elections and the acting president should set their date as soon as possible.

“Once this debate is exhausted, let Kosovo go to elections, and let the acting president set a date as soon as possible for holding the elections, so that before October 5 we have a new Assembly, a new government and a president who is legitimate and legal, elected by the Assembly of Kosovo. Under such circumstances, after October 5 we will enter constitutional anarchy; there will be no one to call the parties together for consensus,” Jakaj said.

Delays in establishing institutions have already cost Kosovo tens of millions of euros from the Growth Plan, while the continuation of the political crisis is expected to further worsen the situation.

“Meanwhile, the consequences will be serious, as I mentioned. Funding from the Growth Plan, funding from the domestic plan, issues related to diplomacy, the foreign service, and Kosovo’s lobbying efforts to apply for membership in the Council of Europe and other organizations, particularly the European Union,” Jakaj added.

The Vetëvendosje Movement is still short of six votes needed to elect the new president. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, the Alliance and six LDK lawmakers have announced that they will not contribute to this process.