Could the Presidency Go to the LDK? Analysts Comment on Konjufca’s Optimism

Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti and LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku are expected to meet today as part of efforts to establish the new institutions.

This will be their second meeting since the certification of the June 7 election results. It will also be their first meeting since Abdixhiku survived the no-confidence motion initiated by delegates from his own party.

Before the LVV sent its invitation to the LDK, acting Foreign Minister and Vetëvendosje Movement deputy leader Glauk Konjufca signaled that more in-depth negotiations would take place.

On Monday, Konjufca said that further meetings on forming the institutions were expected before the constitutive session of the Assembly, scheduled for Thursday.

He said he expected additional meetings at the political level between the parties to take place in the coming days, even before the session. According to him, the aim is to overcome the current situation and pave the way for the establishment of the new institutions.

Konjufca also said he expected the LVV to invite the LDK for talks in the coming days.

According to him, this was precisely why August 6 had been set. He expressed the expectation that the Democratic League of Kosovo would receive an invitation and that this possibility would be discussed.

Asked whether the other institutions could be formed quickly after the Assembly is constituted, Konjufca said he was very optimistic that an agreement could be reached with the LDK on all senior positions.

He said there was also hope regarding the presidency. Konjufca explained that the LVV would hold more in-depth negotiations with the LDK, as the prime minister had also explained, while the outcome of this process remains to be seen.

The LVV deputy leader recalled that the LDK leadership had also expressed readiness to hold talks with the Vetëvendosje Movement. For this reason, he believes a solution can be found and an agreement reached on all senior positions in the Republic of Kosovo.

While Konjufca has expressed optimism about resolving the issue of the presidency, LDK deputy leader Lutfi Haziri had spoken about his party’s conditions just days after the June 7 election results. He said that the LDK could come together and provide the votes of its 18 elected members of the Kosovo Assembly if the Vetëvendosje Movement, as the winner of the June 7 early parliamentary elections, gave it the presidency as part of a potential agreement.

Haziri had emphasized that the LDK’s votes could be unified only if the presidential candidate came from that party and not from another political group.

He mentioned LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku or himself as possibilities. According to Haziri, because of his official position as party leader, Abdixhiku would be the first choice, while after him, the candidate with the broadest consensus within the LDK would be Haziri himself.

Could Kosovo’s New President Be Elected from the LDK?

Analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu interprets Glauk Konjufca’s position as part of normal negotiations between two political parties, with both sides seeking to secure a more favorable position ahead of an agreement.

In comments to “Bota sot,” Spahiu said that each side is now trying to persuade the other to lower its demands. According to him, this means that the LVV and the LDK have moved to a more concrete stage of discussions, during which their willingness to compromise is being tested.

He believes Lutfi Haziri’s statement that LDK lawmakers could vote as a bloc only for their party’s candidate does not necessarily mean that the next president will be an LDK figure. According to Spahiu, this position reflects the party’s efforts to convert its weight in the Assembly into as much influence as possible during the process.

In his assessment, the LDK aims to use the presidency as a political tool to strengthen its position following the elections. The LVV, meanwhile, is trying to keep the process under control without making major compromises.

Spahiu sees a significant political shift when comparing the harsh language Haziri used after the elections with Konjufca’s more conciliatory approach. He says that immediately after the elections, the parties needed to consolidate their voter bases and therefore used stronger rhetoric.

Now, according to him, the approaching constitutional deadlines and growing pressure to break the institutional deadlock have helped soften the political language, creating more room for in-depth talks.

Asked which LDK figures could be candidates, Spahiu says that a figure with institutional experience and a less divisive political profile would have the best chance of securing consensus.

He does not rule out Lutfi Haziri or other prominent LDK figures being mentioned in the discussions. However, Spahiu emphasizes that the final decision will be determined by the LVV’s willingness to accept such a candidate, as well as the LDK’s ability to maintain unity within its parliamentary group.

According to Spahiu, an agreement between the LVV and the LDK on the president would send an important political message to the other opposition parties. In his assessment, such an agreement would create a new axis of cooperation between the two largest Albanian parties, relegating the PDK and the AAK to a more peripheral role in decision-making.

At the same time, this agreement could be seen as evidence of political responsibility and a commitment to institutional stability. Spahiu considers this particularly important at a time when the country needs to make its institutions operational and when international partners expect broader political consensus.

Potential Offers, the Presidency and the Prospect of New Elections

Speaking to “Bota sot,” analyst Nexhat Haziri outlined the offers that he believes Kurti may make to Abdixhiku.

Citing his own sources, Haziri claims that Kurti has taken a firm position on the election of the president.

According to him, despite statements by Glauk Konjufca and Lutfi Haziri, Kurti is expected to offer the LDK only three or four ministries and, potentially, the position of speaker of the Assembly in order for the party to join the governing coalition.

Nexhat Haziri believes that, for Kurti, the LDK would be a partner without significant political power and would not create problems for him while governing. He links this to the internal situation within the LDK, claiming that Abdixhiku controls only nine lawmakers and that Kurti could remove him from the coalition whenever he deemed it necessary without jeopardizing the parliamentary majority.

The analyst says the main issue remains the election of the president. According to his sources, Kurti insists that the position should go to him, while even a coalition agreement with the LDK would not guarantee the election of the head of state.

Haziri adds that Kurti has so far given no indication or expressed any willingness for the presidency to go to another party, including the LDK as a potential coalition partner. In this situation, according to him, several ministries and greater representation on boards would be enough for Abdixhiku to place his supporters in positions and continue his internal struggle against his party rivals within the LDK.

Nexhat Haziri believes that the LDK’s votes alone are not enough to complete the process of electing the president, warning that Kosovo may be heading toward new elections.

He says Kurti also knows that the LDK is not enough to bring the presidential election process to a conclusion. According to the analyst, if Kurti genuinely wants the country to establish new institutions and emerge from its political and institutional crisis, the only solution is a compromise agreement with all political parties under which the presidential candidate would be proposed by the opposition parties.

Any other attempt, according to Haziri, will produce no result, including today’s meeting between Albin Kurti and Lumir Abdixhiku. He concludes that the country is likely to head to new elections with a fragmented LDK, a circumstance that would benefit the LVV. Haziri does not believe Kurti would let this opportunity pass, as it could increase his share of the vote.