Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Democratic League of Kosovo leader Lumir Abdixhiku are expected to meet today at 18:00 in the Kosovo Assembly building.
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The meeting comes at a delicate political moment, just days before the Assembly’s constitutive session, as political parties seek a way forward in establishing the new institutions.
The talks are expected to focus on opportunities for cooperation between the parties and the steps that could be taken to overcome the institutional deadlock.
Amid the continuing challenge of ensuring institutional stability, the meeting between Kurti and Abdixhiku is seen as a test of their willingness to reach political agreements.
Invitations to the talks were also extended to the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, but the two parties have taken different positions. The PDK declined to participate, saying it would remain in opposition. The AAK, meanwhile, reiterated its six-point proposal, which includes the election of a new president, and expressed its readiness for political dialogue.
Drenori: I hope the first results will emerge tonight and a new path of cooperation will open for the election of the president
Analyst Xhavit Drenori told “Bota sot” that today’s meeting could produce concrete steps toward overcoming the political impasse, particularly concerning the election of a new president.
According to him, the positions expressed by Lumir Abdixhiku after winning the confidence vote within the LDK signal a willingness to help resolve the institutional situation. However, it remains unclear whether this cooperation could also extend to the government level.
Drenori said he was very hopeful that today’s meeting would produce the first results, even if it did not immediately bring a final solution, toward ending the political impasse, specifically regarding the election of a new male or female president.
He based this expectation on the statement Abdixhiku made after successfully passing the confidence vote within his political party, the LDK, when he said clearly that “anyone calling for new elections again is crazy.” For Drenori, this position suggests that Abdixhiku has committed himself to helping resolve the institutional situation.
According to the analyst, it now remains to be seen whether the involvement will be broader, including the LDK’s participation in the government and other institutions, or whether cooperation will focus solely on electing the president. Nevertheless, he believes signs of a possible way out of the current situation are already visible.
Drenori stressed that, following the repeated elections, the political parties have an obligation to contribute to resolving the institutional deadlock.
In his assessment, the central issue in the crisis is the election of the president, because resolving it would create an opportunity to make the institutions operational.
He recalled that elections have been held three times over the past two years and that the result has remained almost unchanged. For this reason, he said it is unbecoming of the political parties, particularly the PDK and LDK, to remain on the sidelines; instead, they should contribute to electing a male or female president.
Drenori believes that, if possible, this person should have been minimally involved in politics and should come from civil society, in keeping with the message citizens have conveyed through their votes.
If the winning party secures 61 votes to establish the institutions, he said, it should be allowed to govern. Meanwhile, the other parties should use this period to serve in opposition and carry out internal reforms.
For this reason, Drenori believes the LDK is taking a more reasonable approach in this regard. He hopes the first results will emerge tonight, paving the way for a new form of cooperation on electing the president, since that is precisely where the current political impasse lies, he told the newspaper.
Makolli: Abdixhiku has signaled a willingness to consider an agreement that would lift the country out of the institutional vacuum
Political analyst Vesel Makolli said the continuing institutional deadlock is weakening Kosovo’s international standing and creating opportunities for Serbia to make political gains.
Speaking to “Bota sot,” he said the LDK should actively engage in overcoming the crisis by reaching an agreement with the Vetëvendosje Movement that would unblock the institutions and enable the state to function normally.
Makolli stressed that Kosovo cannot afford to waste time, while the saga of its blocked institutions has continued for nearly two years. During this period, he said, important international agreements have remained pending. These agreements are overseen by relevant international actors and are directly linked to efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement with the northern neighbor.
He believes this situation has damaged Kosovo’s credibility and standing in the international arena. At the same time, the Serbian regime is exploiting Kosovo’s institutional fragility and its institutions’ failure to fulfill international obligations to improve its own international position and image.
According to Makolli, as the party with Kosovo’s longest democratic tradition, the LDK has a special responsibility to safeguard the country’s democratic and state-building culture. In this context, it should take an active role in overcoming the institutional crisis and help reach an agreement with the Vetëvendosje Movement, with the aim of unblocking the institutions and ensuring the normal functioning of the state.
Makolli added that Abdixhiku has shown willingness to reach an agreement that could resolve the political impasse. However, he considers the lack of unity within the Parliamentary Group to be the LDK’s main challenge.
He said that Lumir Abdixhiku, following his reelection as head of the LDK and the reaffirmation of confidence in him by the party Assembly, had signaled that he was open to considering a possible agreement to lift the country out of the institutional vacuum. According to Makolli, an agreement with the Vetëvendosje Movement would also be vital to President Vjosa Osmani’s political future.
Regarding the LDK, Makolli believes the main obstacle is the lack of cohesion within its Parliamentary Group. The differing positions expressed by its elected members could make it more difficult to secure an internal consensus on a potential agreement with VV, regardless of the willingness the party leadership may have.
In conclusion, the analyst said that reaching an agreement depends on VV’s willingness to compromise and on unity within the LDK. In the absence of these two elements, he warned that the country could face snap elections.
Makolli said that VV, together with lawmakers from non-majority communities, has a total of 63 members of parliament. If the LDK leader had the full support of all 18 members of his party’s Parliamentary Group, a majority of 83 members could be formed.
According to him, such a majority would guarantee institutional stability and avoid the need for new elections, along with the political, economic and time costs they would entail.
In summary, Makolli said an agreement depends on two key issues: the willingness of the Vetëvendosje Movement’s leader to compromise and the unification of the LDK Parliamentary Group around a solution that would end the institutional crisis.
He said the decision now rests with VV. If the party continues to seek control of all three main institutions of power, the Assembly, the Government and the Presidency, the chances of an agreement would diminish significantly. Under such circumstances, Makolli said, the possibility of holding snap elections in late autumn cannot be ruled out, which would further prolong the country’s institutional crisis and political uncertainty, he concluded for “Bota sot.”
