The invitation to a meeting that acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti sent to political leaders has received a positive response from the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo, while the Alliance has rejected it.
Political analyst Ilir Deda considers the sending of these invitations a positive step, but stresses that the responsibility now lies with Albin Kurti, PDK’s Bedri Hamza and LDK’s Lumir Abdixhiku to secure institutional stability for the country as soon as possible.
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According to him, the process should not be allowed to drag on through numerous short meetings without results.
“It is up to the three individuals who carry political weight to find a solution and not enter a cycle of frequent, short meetings that produce no result. I believe the time has come for them, with one or two meetings at most, to provide an answer on the creation of institutions,” Deda told Radio Free Europe.
He called it a mistake by Alliance leader Ardian Gjini not to take part in a meeting with Kurti, although he assessed that the six conditions the party presented in exchange for support for the establishment of institutions are correct and good.
“In political democracy, political leaders communicate with one another beyond political rivalry,” he said, adding that even without Gjini, the three leaders must show whether they are “capable of reaching together an agreement that would put an end to this institutional crisis in our country.”
Deda said it is not known whether Kurti called the meetings only over the issue of the president or also over the formation of the Assembly and the Government, but he believes that after they conclude, the leaders should publicly clarify what the demands were, whether they were accepted, and whether the country will create its institutions.
“I think new elections would be very harmful and that Kurti, Hamza and Abdixhiku have an extraordinary responsibility to reach an understanding together and give Kosovo a functional Government, a president and political stability for the next four years,” Deda said.
Regarding how these meetings should be held, he recalled that the previous model of one-on-one meetings between leaders brought no result, and therefore believes the 2+2 format this time “may perhaps be more productive.”
Deda also supports the idea that the head of state should be a “political, but not partisan” president, adding that Kosovo has such figures who “would be very positive” for the country.
LVV wants the president to be a non-partisan and consensual figure, while LDK ran in the election with the name of former president Vjosa Osmani for the post.
Former Alliance leader Ramush Haradinaj has also said he would consider his name if proposed as the opposition’s joint candidate for president, but this idea has been opposed by Kurti’s party.
Several months ago, Kurti’s LVV proposed Feride Rushiti and Hatixhe Hoxha from civil society for the post of president, but the lack of an agreement with opposition parties meant those candidacies did not secure the necessary votes.
The country went to elections in June after parties had failed months earlier to agree on the candidate for the new president.
What did Hamza, Abdixhiku and Gjini say?
PDK leader Bedri Hamza said earlier in the day that he had proposed to Kurti that the meeting be held on Friday at the premises of the Assembly of Kosovo.
On the morning of July 9, Kurti, as leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement, sent invitations to meet to Bedri Hamza, Lumir Abdixhiku of the Democratic League of Kosovo and Ardian Gjini of the Alliance.
The letter was sent one day after the Central Election Commission certified the results of the snap parliamentary elections in June.
After a meeting of the party leadership, Hamza said Kurti’s letter had proposed that the meeting be held today at 17:00 or tomorrow at 8:00, 9:00, or 18:00.
“I replied in writing that PDK is ready to meet tomorrow at 09:00 at the Assembly premises,” Hamza said.
He said the country is facing an institutional vacuum and that everyone must behave responsibly.
“I am not against meetings taking place, but before we talk about positions, I have said and I repeat, priorities, the vision for the future, the program, and addressing the challenges Kosovo has are extremely important. If there is no agreement on these, it is not PDK’s goal to have a certain number of ministries, to have a speaker of the Assembly or the president or whatever it may be,” Hamza said.
In a statement, PDK stressed that the constitutional and political responsibility for creating institutions belongs to LVV as the party that won the election.
“For this reason, we expect Kurti to present his plan for creating institutions and securing the necessary majority,” the statement said.
After a meeting of the LDK leadership, Lumir Abdixhiku said he would respond positively to Kurti’s invitation, underlining that this was the first communication between LVV and LDK.
“I believe our teams will arrange the timing of the meetings. But let this be a first meeting. I will also try to meet with the leaders of the political parties,” Abdixhiku said, adding that he wants an inclusive approach to the creation of all institutions.
He said the meeting with Kurti had been proposed in a 1+1 format, but that he prefers it to be held in a 2+2 format.
Asked whether LDK would seek the post of president, given that the party ran with former president Vjosa Osmani for that position, Abdixhiku replied:
“At this stage, we will not talk about names. We will also listen to the other side,” adding that it is important to try to avoid new elections.
On the other hand, Alliance leader Ardian Gjini, through a post on social media, announced that he had rejected the invitation to meet Kurti, recalling that the party had made its position public on June 26, when it presented six conditions in exchange for support for the creation of institutions.
“Given our clear and principled position, we do not see the meeting as necessary,” the letter Gjini sent to Kurti said.
After the certification of the June election results by the Central Election Commission, the next step is expected to be the constitution of the Assembly, the vote on the Government and the election of Kosovo’s new president.
According to the final results of the June 7 election, Kurti’s LVV won 53 mandates, PDK 22 seats, LDK 18 and the Alliance seven.
Since LVV appears to have the votes to constitute the Assembly and form the Government, these two processes are not expected to face obstacles, as both require 61 votes in the 120-seat Assembly. For these two processes, Kurti is counting on the votes of non-Serb minority parties, which have ten mandates.
However, there is still no agreement or consensus on the name of the president.
What are the parties’ positions?
LVV official Arbërie Nagavci said several days ago to Radio Free Europe that the ruling party has secured the votes to create the new Government and that for the election of the president it will seek consensus with the other parties.
PDK, LDK and the Alliance have expressed certain conditions for possible cooperation with Kurti’s LVV.
Hamza has said that before any possible governing cooperation is discussed, topics such as wages and pensions, energy capacities, American gas and Kosovo’s membership in the European Union must be discussed, which, according to him, should be addressed with the winning party.
Abdixhiku has said that Kosovo’s strategic orientation, including American gas, “is the precondition of LDK’s political existence.”
Gjini, meanwhile, has presented six conditions for supporting the creation of the new institutions. Among them are acceptance of the American gas project, the construction of a coal-fired power plant and other conditions related to the economy.
Kurti’s acting government is facing calls from the US Embassy, opposition parties and business chambers to become involved in regional initiatives for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) network supported by the United States.
Deda believes all the opposition parties’ demands are in Kosovo’s interest and that, in his view, they aim to increase citizens’ well-being and deepen “Kosovo’s partnership with the United States.”
“There is nothing wrong here. And ultimately, for a strategic project such as American gas, no single political party can make a decision on behalf of the state of Kosovo. This should be part of the discussion in an agreement among all political parties. This is how it is done in other countries, especially those that are clear about what future they want to build,” he said.
On July 8, the chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Pristina, Anu Prattipati, repeated the call for Kosovo to be supplied with American LNG “to ensure American investment in the future.”
However, so far, there have been no signals from the executive that it is ready to become part of these initiatives, while acting Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli and Kurti have mentioned the idea of gasifying domestic coal.
The election of the president requires the presence of two-thirds of MPs in the Assembly for voting in the first two rounds to be valid.
Without a political agreement, this remains impossible for any parliamentary party.
The Constitution stipulates that the president must be elected within 60 days from the day the Assembly is constituted.
If this does not happen, the Assembly is dissolved and the country goes to new elections. If the country goes to elections again, they would be the fourth parliamentary elections since February 2025. / RFE
