Presheva-based analyst Nehat Hyseni has commented on the path that led to Justina Shiroka-Pula’s election as President of Kosovo, describing October 6 as an unusual moment in the country’s recent institutional history.
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He said the presidential deadlock was resolved only after politicians delayed a compromise until the last moment, despite the country having faced an institutional crisis for months.
“The election of the President of the Republic of Kosovo on October 6, 2026, will be remembered as one of the most unusual episodes in Kosovo’s recent institutional history. The risk of early elections was one reason, but more importantly, a constitutional issue that called for political dialogue, state responsibility and compromise was left to be resolved in the final minutes,” Hyseni told the newspaper Bota sot.
He noted that what had not been achieved over weeks and months was accomplished in just a few minutes, when the risk of the Assembly being dissolved and another election process became tangible. Hyseni called this a paradox and asked why an agreement had not been reached sooner.
According to the analyst, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s proposal of academician and Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts President Justina Shiroka-Pula, together with the acceptance of her candidacy by the PDK, led by Bedri Hamza, created the formula that ended the deadlock. Shiroka-Pula was elected President in the first round with 81 votes.
Hyseni described the agreement as a kind of political “last-minute deal” and again asked why the parties had not managed to find a solution earlier.
“In a political crisis that lasted almost two years, a new name and a political agreement were found within minutes, making possible a vote that spared the country another election cycle. This makes the question unavoidable: why wait until that moment?” he said.
Hyseni: The Constitution calls for compromise, but politics produced confrontation
In analyzing the presidential election process, Hyseni recalled that the requirement for a qualified majority is a deliberate part of the constitutional system. In the first two rounds, 80 votes are required, meaning the parliamentary majority must secure support from beyond its own camp.
“The election of the President under Kosovo’s constitutional system is designed as a process that requires more than a simple parliamentary majority. This was not decided by chance: the aim is for the President to be not merely the product of one party, but the result of a broader agreement,” Hyseni said.
He sees the central paradox of the 2026 political crisis in the fact that the Constitution called for agreement, while the political culture often encouraged confrontation.
“The requirement for 80 votes in the first two rounds obliges the governing majority to seek support beyond its own ranks. In established democracies, this can encourage dialogue; in polarized party systems, it can become a tool for obstruction. Kosovo faced the latter,” he stressed.
The analyst also discussed the agreement reached in late August between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the LDK on Bekim Sejdiu’s candidacy for President. Although it initially appeared that the agreement would bring a solution, opposition within the LDK prevented it from being implemented.
“An agreement between leaders is not enough if it does not have sustained support in parliamentary groups. The President is not elected through statements to the media; votes are needed, and those require a genuine agreement,” Hyseni said.
He counts this among the significant shortcomings in the functioning of parliamentary democracy in Kosovo.
In his assessment, the PDK played an important role in the final days of the crisis. Bedri Hamza’s party refused to automatically support the candidate proposed by the LVV and also included the issue of amending the Law on Specialist Chambers in the negotiations.
“Legally, the Presidency and the Specialist Chambers were separate matters, but in politics they became linked. Institutionally, they were two processes, while in parliamentary negotiations they were dealt with at the same table. This shows that issues that are legally separate can be politically interdependent,” Hyseni said.
He said that the intertwining of these issues was an important feature of the talks that preceded the election of the President.
Hyseni also placed the crisis in the context of developments outside the Assembly, particularly protests concerning the Specialist Chambers. He stressed that pressure on decision-making came from several directions, not only from political parties.
“Negotiations over votes were taking place in the Assembly, while public pressure was mounting outside it. The constitutional deadline created legal pressure, the possibility of elections brought electoral pressure, and the protests added political pressure. All three factors converged on the same day and influenced the circumstances surrounding the final decision,” he said.
However, the analyst stressed that institutional decisions must always be made in accordance with the legal and constitutional framework.
According to Hyseni, one reason Shiroka-Pula’s candidacy was accepted was her academic and institutional profile. He believes a figure who is not directly affiliated with a political party can create greater scope for agreement between political camps.
“In politics, a candidate’s profile can carry as much weight as the way an agreement is reached. An academic candidate with institutional experience and no direct party ties offered broader room for compromise. That is what happened with Justina Shiroka-Pula: her candidacy served as a bridge between the camps and made possible, at the last moment, what had seemed unattainable for weeks,” Hyseni said.
He considers it significant that Shiroka-Pula received 81 votes, one more than the 80-vote threshold required in the first two rounds.
Hyseni criticized the way the crisis was handled, saying that compromise is essential in a parliamentary democracy but should not repeatedly be reached only when time is running out.
“The state cannot always be run in the final minutes, and the Republic should not have to wait until midnight to make strategically important decisions. The President should not be elected only because the constitutional deadline is approaching. Compromise is essential to parliamentary democracy, but when it comes too late, citizens are left wondering whether they are witnessing state-building or a last-minute deal,” he said.
According to Hyseni, after this crisis, not only the way constitutional provisions are interpreted but also the political culture of decision-making must change.
Hyseni warns of the risk of concentrating power
The analyst from Presheva said the crisis should serve as an opportunity to reflect on the separation and balance of powers.
“A political force that governs and manages to influence the election of the President, the Speaker of the Assembly and other institutions at the same time can accumulate considerable political power. This is not about one party alone, but about the quality of democracy. Democracy is protected through the separation of powers, institutional checks and balances, a functioning opposition, an independent judiciary and a free media—not simply by avoiding an absolute majority,” Hyseni said.
He added that Kosovo must build institutions that matter more than individuals and political leaders.
“Kosovo needs a democracy of institutions, not personalities. No leader, whoever they may be, can be more important than the institution they lead,” Hyseni stressed.
In closing, he linked the crisis to the need for a new political culture. In his view, patriotism should not be expressed only through words about history, war, independence and statehood, but also through respect for institutions.
“In the 21st century, patriotism is not measured only by rhetoric about the KLA, independence or the flag. There is also institutional patriotism: respecting the Constitution, accepting compromise, not turning the opposition into an enemy, not treating the state as the property of the majority, and recognizing that political opponents also belong to the Republic,” he said.
Hyseni said Shiroka-Pula’s election should be seen not only as the end of the crisis, but also as an opportunity to begin a new political chapter. Kosovo, he said, should aim for stable institutions, not merely one party’s victory over another, because governments change while institutions must endure.
“Kosovo did not win because one party defeated another. It won because, at the last moment, the parties avoided another institutional crisis. But this last-minute outcome should not erase the failure of the preceding months. A mature democracy does not wait until time runs out to negotiate. Kosovo must show that it knows how to build stability, compromise, the separation of powers and institutional responsibility,” Hyseni concluded.
He summed up his message with a principle that, in his view, should guide Kosovo’s democratic development: “Power is won through votes, but the state is safeguarded through institutions.”
