Qarri Warns of LDK Split After Abdixhiku’s Reconfirmation

The Extraordinary Assembly of the Democratic League of Kosovo, held on Thursday, reconfirmed Lumir Abdixhiku as party leader. Delegates voted against the motion seeking to remove him from the leadership of the LDK.

Political analyst Gani Qarri told “Bota sot” that the initiative to remove Abdixhiku was unexpected. According to him, the clashes within the political party have seriously damaged the LDK, despite its leader once again winning a vote of confidence.

Qarri believes the motion was introduced unexpectedly, following dissatisfaction expressed by a group within the party and its clashes with Abdixhiku’s leadership.

He recalled that on January 31 of this year, Abdixhiku had secured the party’s confidence to continue leading the LDK. He also said that the June 7 election result was better than that of December 28, while the July 30 vote of confidence in Abdixhiku represents the most severe blow the LDK has suffered throughout its existence as a strong, united and institutional party and a formerly prominent state-building political force.

According to the analyst, the fact that the motion failed to oust the leader cannot be described as a complete victory. He believes the result has exposed the separation of part of the party’s structures and called its unity and stability into question.

Qarri said Abdixhiku would no longer have the support of the dissident wing within the LDK. For this reason, he considers the party to be at the height of its internal crisis and doubts that it can offer a solution to the prolonged political deadlock or the institutional crisis.

He also warned that a significant number of LDK lawmakers may no longer comply with the leader’s requests. Although Abdixhiku officially remains in office, Qarri said he continues to be a contested leader within the party.

Qarri called on Abdixhiku and Vjosa Osmani, who was the first to congratulate him on winning the confidence vote, to work with the majority of loyal LDK lawmakers and coordinate with Prime Minister Kurti on electing the country’s president.

According to him, such cooperation would make it possible to establish stable institutions and ensure stable governance for the next 4 years. Qarri said they would have the support of public opinion for such a move and would be appreciated by Kosovo’s citizens, who are tired of constantly moving from one electoral process to another.

He stressed that elections, in addition to causing unnecessary expenditure, have not produced a solution to the issue of the president. According to him, recurring deadlocks portray Kosovo to the world as an unstable and politically volatile state in the Western Balkans and the region.

Qarri said that, for the first time, he would support Abdixhiku if the latter worked together with former President Vjosa Osmani to establish institutions and preserve the stability of the independent state of Kosovo. He described Osmani as the first person to congratulate Abdixhiku for overcoming this ordeal, which he believes was initiated without convincing reason by a group of adventurers and destructive figures within the LDK.

However, the analyst expressed concern that Abdixhiku’s reconfirmation may be only the beginning of a deeper split within the LDK. According to him, the July 30 victory was a “Pyrrhic victory,” rather than a genuine triumph, as Abdixhiku’s continued leadership could widen the divisions and intensify the rifts that have already become public.

He believes these developments are increasingly pointing toward the possible disintegration of this political party, which has played an institutional and formerly state-building role in Kosovo.

Qarri said that following his reconfirmation, Abdixhiku must uphold the promises he made to the public and work more rigorously to broaden support within the party and restore citizens’ trust.

According to him, the LDK leader must do everything he can, in cooperation with former President Vjosa Osmani, to establish state institutions as quickly as possible. He must not allow anyone to use him as a “tool” to take the country back to early elections for the petty interests of another opposition figure.

The analyst stressed that the public now understands that the solution to the deadlock does not lie in elections, but in electing a consensus president, establishing stable institutions and ensuring stable governance. According to him, these are the main needs of Kosovo and its citizens.

In conclusion, Qarri described the process to remove Abdixhiku as unnecessary. He recalled that following the July 30 vote and Abdixhiku’s confirmation as leader of the LDK, former President Vjosa Osmani, who headed the LDK list in the June 7 elections, responded with the words: “Not every victory is ordinary. Some victories become an inspiration. This is one of them!”

Qarri argued that the motion was unnecessary because Abdixhiku had been confirmed as leader in January of this year, while the regular election process to choose the party’s new leadership was expected to take place only a few months later. According to him, the initiative was one-sided and emerged at a particularly sensitive time for Kosovo.

He concluded that after several rounds of elections, Kosovo should not and cannot waste any more time. According to Qarri, the country is awaiting the constitution of the Assembly resulting from the June 7 legislature, the formation of the new government, the election of the president and the normal continuation of political processes.