Internal Clashes in LDK: Gani Mehmeti Explains Why Abdixhiku Has Lost Control Over the Party

The Democratic League of Kosovo is facing a tense internal situation, as a group of delegates have launched an initiative to call an extraordinary Assembly, collecting signatures aimed at reviewing the current leadership of the party.

While the verification of signatures continues, the official call for the extraordinary Assembly has not yet taken place.

In an interview for “Bota sot”, political analyst Gani Mehmeti analyzed the crisis that has engulfed the LDK, emphasizing that the party is going through a difficult phase and that chairman Lumir Abdixhiku no longer has full authority over the internal structures.

According to him, the decline of the LDK is not a sudden phenomenon, but a consequence of a series of events and decisions taken earlier. Mehmeti recalls that Abdixhiku came to the helm of the party as a figure not very well known for his prior activism within the LDK, at a time when the party had already begun to decline. He notes that the causes of this decline are well-known and frequently repeated.

The analyst adds that Abdixhiku’s arrival at the post of chairman was not greeted with enthusiasm by all members, and internal discontent has deepened continuously. The poor electoral results, with the LDK regularly ranking third, have further worsened the situation. Mehmeti stresses that Abdixhiku was asked to resign immediately after the December 2025 elections, but he did not do so, waiting for a confirmation from the party where the majority did not accept his resignation. According to him, the chairman should have read the will of the membership himself and decided whether to stay or step down, but the desire to lead a party with a distinguished history and the ambition to govern prevented this step.

Mehmeti points out that opposition to Abdixhiku has also been strengthened by well-known figures of the LDK, who themselves had aspirations to take over the leadership. This has caused the party to be in a deeper decline today than ever before.

Supporters of these figures and opponents of Abdixhiku have deposited around 150 signatures for holding the Assembly, where the fate of the current chairman will be decided. Mehmeti concludes that Abdixhiku no longer has power within the LDK and that often a single opponent is enough to draw in others until the required number for dismissal is reached.

According to the analyst, it would have been much better for Abdixhiku to resign right after the December 28, 2025 elections, rather than waiting until now. Having come out with another disappointing result in the June 6 elections as well, he should have left immediately to avoid this long public debate.

Finally, Mehmeti warns that the divisions in the LDK could have consequences for the functioning of Kosovo’s institutions. He explains that when Abdixhiku started discussions with Albin Kurti about a possible entry into the government, the 150 signatures for the Assembly forced him to suspend the talks, as he no longer has authority over some deputies of the party. This suspension is necessary because without the full support of the parliamentary group, neither the votes for entering the government nor for electing the president of Kosovo can be secured. Mehmeti warns that this action by some LDK deputies risks blocking the formation of institutions, leading the country into a serious situation both domestically and in international relations and in the receipt of funds from the European Union.