The initial step toward establishing Kosovo’s new institutions—the constitution of the Assembly—did not conclude as expected during the morning of August 6.

After the newly elected lawmakers took their oath, the presiding officer decided to adjourn Thursday’s constitutive session. This was done at the request of the leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV), the largest party, to allow time for talks on a political agreement with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

However, the two parties have shown no signs of being close to an agreement, while the constitutional deadline for constituting the Assembly expires at midnight on Friday. The completion of this process would pave the way for the formation of a government and the election of the country’s president.

An additional obstacle in the negotiations could be the demand publicly put forward by the LDK to take the post of head of state.

Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s LVV insists that the next president should be a consensual and nonpartisan figure. The LDK’s position, meanwhile, is that anyone who can secure 80 votes may be a candidate.

Political analysts consider the demand for the presidency by Lumir Abdixhiku’s party legitimate, as it is the only party that has agreed to enter negotiations with the LVV. According to them, this would create a balance in the distribution of power.

Political scientist Dritëro Arifi, however, describes insisting solely on the presidency as a “narrow” and “unvisionary” demand. He argues that, in the event of a joint government, attention should be focused on government policies.

Arifi stresses that the president does not exercise executive powers and, consequently, this position would not give the LDK the opportunity to influence the policies of the government cabinet.

“Only the position of president… I believe that if the LVV is somewhat intelligent, it would accept it, because it means nothing. That is, not even for the LVV. It carries very little weight, but for the LDK it carries none at all,” Arifi told Radio Free Europe (RFE).

Government program before the distribution of posts

Ilir Deda, a political affairs expert, says the basis of the agreement should be the government program. Among the main issues, he lists the executive’s approach toward Serbs in northern Kosovo, repairing relations with allies, and participation in energy projects supported by Washington.

“If there is no change in policy, and there is a potential LVV-LDK government, then we must ask the LDK why it has remained in opposition all these years if it accepts maintaining the current political course,” Deda told RFE.

In Arifi’s assessment, the LDK must demonstrate during the negotiations that it is managing to incorporate some of its policies into the agreement; otherwise, it will emerge as the loser. He considers Kurti to be in a more favorable position than the LDK “in every option they are considering.”

It is precisely the LDK’s claim to the presidency that calls into question the possibility of the two parties finalizing an agreement.

This demand could complicate the talks and increase the risk of new elections, which would be the fourth in nearly two years. According to Deda, the answer to both of these questions is yes.

The next president: Party representative or independent figure?

Deda believes the parties could find a compromise on the presidency if the LDK proposes a powerful political figure without party affiliation, someone in whom it has confidence.

According to him, the new head of state must have the ability to build consensus within the country. Deda assesses that presidents with party backgrounds in Kosovo’s recent history “have neither known nor wanted to build political and social consensus.”

The LDK has not yet clarified whether it intends to propose someone from its own ranks or a nonpartisan candidate.

In the most recent election, the LDK presented former President Vjosa Osmani as a candidate for head of state. However, Deda says that this party, as the third political force, does not “have the right” to propose one of its members instead of an independent figure, which, according to him, would simultaneously meet the LVV’s condition as well.

Deda assesses that the LVV has “cemented” its demand for a consensual and nonpartisan president, calling this a “just position.” For this reason, he does not think the LVV would accept Osmani for the presidency again.

On the other hand, Arifi says that neither side is guided by principles. He recalls that Kurti had supported Osmani for president during his first term and assesses that the acting prime minister, “depending on his personal interest, is changing his approaches.”

Arifi believes that the LDK will remain a “losing party” even if it manages to secure the presidency.

The talks between the LVV and the LDK are taking place amid internal clashes within Abdixhiku’s party. Just a few days ago, he survived a motion aimed at removing him from the leadership of the LDK.

Nevertheless, Arifi believes that the party’s lawmakers would unite their votes if the narrative continues to focus exclusively on the demand for the presidency.

At a time when political entities are trying to prevent a further deterioration of the institutional crisis, citizens surveyed by RFE say they are tired of frequent election cycles.

If a compromise on the president is not reached, Kosovo could once again enter an election campaign. Neither Albin Kurti nor Lumir Abdixhiku has ruled out this possibility.

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The European Parliament has called on Kosovo to ensure that its institutions are functioning in order to accelerate essential reforms and advance the normalization of relations with Serbia.

According to the European Parliament, a functioning legislature and government are essential for implementing reforms linked to the European Union, as well as supporting Kosovo’s progress toward EU membership as a potential candidate country.

“Kosovo must accelerate reforms and normalize relations with Serbia.

Parliament calls for a functioning legislature and government in order to advance EU-related reforms and support Kosovo’s path toward the EU as a potential candidate country,” the European Parliament said in a post on X.

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Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has shown a softer approach by inviting the Alliance to a meeting to discuss the formation of new institutions. However, this party has not changed its stance.

Besnik Tahiri, an elected MP from the Alliance, declared that there will be no sitting at the discussion table until the party’s six programmatic demands are addressed. According to him, these points are related to state policies and not to power-sharing.

Asked whether refusing the meeting with Kurti is hindering the creation of institutions, Tahiri responded that the Alliance’s demands are already public, while concrete actions must be taken by the Government.

Referring to the American gas project, he said that Kurti or the Vetëvendosje Movement do not need to send a response to the Alliance. According to Tahiri, the Government of Kosovo must address a letter to the U.S. Government and the State Department, through which Kosovo would obtain a state commitment for American gas infrastructure. He added that other issues also require decisions from the Government and not communication with his party.

Tahiri insisted that the conditions presented do not stem from party interests, as the Alliance does not aim to take posts in the executive branch.

He stressed that his party is not blocking the process in order to secure ministries, ambassadors, or the position of Speaker of Parliament. Tahiri recalled that the Alliance was not invited to the previous process and asked how it happened that now it is being treated as a respectable party. According to him, the Alliance has always been a respected and state-forming political force, while its concern relates to the stance that Kurti has held for a long time and which he must change.

The elected MP also criticized the way Kosovo has been governed over the past two years. He claimed that the continuation of governance with acting officials is part of a political objective of Kurti.

According to Tahiri, Kosovo has never in its political history faced a more difficult situation. He said that the country has been run by acting officials for two years because the prime minister’s strategic goal is to stay in this position and take control of institutions linked to regulators. Tahiri stated that the Government controls the regulators, public money, and key institutions that generate revenue. In this way, according to him, Kurti aims to carry out his duties without the legislative oversight and control of Parliament, as well as without being held accountable for international relations.

For this reason, as Tahiri explained, the Alliance has withdrawn from any claims to be part of the government and only seeks the implementation of policies it deems to be in Kosovo’s interest.

In his statement to eo, he said that the Alliance has taken a step forward by giving up the demand for inclusion in the government and by not claiming a single political position appointed in the executive, while retaining its positions in Parliament. Tahiri declared that this approach has only one aim: saving Kosovo.

The six points that the Alliance has publicly presented as the basis for supporting the formation of institutions are: recognizing the American gas project as a strategic project; initiating procedures for the construction of a coal-fired power plant; raising the VAT threshold for small businesses from 30,000 to 100,000 euros; exempting cultivated land from property tax; full financing of infrastructure projects; and establishing a fund worth 800 million to 1 billion euros for investments in Prishtina.

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Kamberi announced that he will initiate a request for the minister’s dismissal, stressing that otherwise the lack of reaction will be interpreted as approval of the statement by the entire Government of Serbia.

“The fascist statements of government ministers best show that Milošević’s Serbia remains the same! The statement by the Minister for Local Government, Snežana Paunović, that if she were in Slobodan Milošević’s place she would ethnically cleanse Kosovo, is scandalous, unacceptable, and demands an immediate institutional reaction. For this reason, today, through an official letter, I have requested a reaction from all relevant international embassies in Belgrade.

Such a statement cannot be considered isolated. It is the result of systematic denial of war crimes, glorification of convicted war criminals, relativization of international court decisions, and historical revisionism. For the Albanians of the Preševo Valley, such statements from representatives of state institutions constitute an additional source of insecurity. When a member of the Government talks about ethnic cleansing, members of minority communities rightly ask what security they can expect from these institutions. As a candidate country for membership in the European Union, Serbia has an obligation to respect and protect the rights of minority communities. Such statements are in direct contradiction to these obligations and exceed any democratic standard on which the European Union is based. In my capacity as a deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia, I will initiate the request for the minister’s dismissal. Otherwise, silence and lack of action will be understood as approval of her statement and as the official position of the entire Government,” – he writes.

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The political debate in the country has sparked numerous reactions, while criticism of the opposition has intensified over its repeated demands for new parliamentary elections to be held.

Regarding this issue, Professor Nijazi Halili gave a statement to “Bota sot”.

According to the assessments presented, the opposition is failing to secure citizens’ support through the vote and, instead of reflecting on the election result, examining the causes of the defeat, and building more convincing alternatives, it is insisting on repeating the elections in the hope of a different outcome.

It is also considered that this course of action does not help overcome the political deadlock, but instead prolongs institutional uncertainty.

These assessments state that the solution does not lie in holding elections one after another, but in respecting the will of the citizens, making the institutions functional, and engaging political entities to offer programs and policies that secure the support of the electorate.

The professor said that new elections should be sought only when there are strong constitutional or institutional reasons, while the opposition, according to him, should win the trust of citizens with better alternatives and not by constantly demanding a repeat of the electoral process.

“This debate should be addressed on the basis of democratic principles and not only through momentary political positions. In every parliamentary democracy, the demand for new elections is legitimate only when it is supported by strong constitutional arguments, by the loss of the parliamentary majority, or by a deep institutional crisis. Otherwise, if elections are constantly sought merely because of dissatisfaction with the result, the perception is created that the citizens’ verdict is not being fully respected.

If the opposition fails to convince the majority of the electorate in elections, the main challenge should not be repeating the electoral process, but revising its political offer, building more convincing alternatives, and exercising its constitutional role as the opposition. In democracy, legitimacy is earned through the trust of the citizens and not through constant demands to return to the ballot boxes”, he said.

Furthermore, the professor believes that the opposition should play its role through criticism and by offering political alternatives, while respecting the election result, since institutional stability and dialogue constitute a better solution than frequent elections.

“On the other hand, a constructive opposition does not mean giving up criticism of the government. On the contrary, it must oversee institutions, propose alternative policies, and demand accountability, while respecting the election result until there are institutional or constitutional mechanisms that impose a different solution.

From an institutional perspective, political stability is an important value. Frequent elections can produce blockages, uncertainty, and delays in decision-making, especially when there is no guarantee that the result will be different. Therefore, making institutions functional and political dialogue remain the most effective path for overcoming crises”, the professor emphasized.

In conclusion, he explained that demands for new elections can be considered justified only when they are supported by evidence or constitutional grounds, while democracy is strengthened when the election result is respected and competition takes place through ideas and political programs.

“However, it is important to maintain a balanced approach. It cannot automatically be said that every demand by the opposition for new elections is a sign of an inability to accept the election result. If there are serious claims of electoral irregularities, they must be addressed through the competent institutions and legal procedures. But in the absence of convincing evidence or a constitutional basis, continued insistence on elections may be interpreted as a lack of an effective opposition strategy and as an inability to win public support through the political offer.

In the end, democracy is not measured only by the organization of elections, but also by the ability of political actors to respect the result, to guarantee the normal functioning of institutions, and to compete with ideas and programs that persuade citizens in the next elections”, Professor Halili concluded for “Bota sot”.

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According to him, the Democratic Party does not seek to speak on behalf of the protesters, but to bring their concerns and problems to Parliament, which, as he said, require serious institutional treatment.

“The PD has listened to and assessed the concerns of the citizens who have been protesting on the boulevard for 26 days. It is a known fact that the protests have drawn the attention of several European parliaments; the only parliament that has paid no attention to the concerns of the citizens in the square is that of our own country.

With full responsibility, the PD has submitted a request for an urgent interpellation with the Prime Minister regarding citizens’ concerns, has submitted a motion for debate on the role Parliament should play in addressing citizens’ concerns, and has submitted a motion for debate on the latest European Parliament resolution, which sets out the ‘homework’ within the framework of the integration process.

This should have been our work plan, but all three requests were rejected in the Conference of Chairpersons, without any argument and with their claim that we are trying to become the protesters’ spokespersons. At no point have we claimed to become spokespersons for the protests, but we cannot behave as if we do not live in Albania, and for this reason we asked for a debate in Parliament,” Bardhi said.

He added that discussions of this nature are held in European parliaments and other international institutions, while pointing out that Albania’s Parliament is overlooking this situation.

“Such a debate has taken place in the European Parliament, in the German Bundestag, and we cannot behave as if the protests and the citizens do not exist. All three requests are legitimate and are recognized by Parliament’s Rules of Procedure,” he said.

Earlier, PS parliamentary group leader Taulant Balla said the majority does not accept the Democratic Party and Sali Berisha as representatives of the protesters. According to him, the opposition has transformed the protesters’ demands, because, as he says, they were different from those presented in Parliament.

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Asked about the demands presented by the protesters, including the establishment of a non-political transitional government for a 12-month period in the event of the prime minister’s resignation, Berisha said that the Democratic Party stands by them.

He stressed that these demands will be treated with the utmost seriousness in the opposition’s political activity at both the national and international level, adding that the Democratic Party has defended the protesters’ cause even in its contacts and meetings abroad.

Berisha also called on Parliament to set aside every other issue and focus on reviewing the protesters’ demands, which he described as just.

During his statement, he accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of restoring forms of surveillance that, according to him, resemble the darkest period of the communist dictatorship.

Berisha said that, for generations who did not live through that time, during the dictatorship outdoor areas, the sides of the boulevard, trees, bridges and other spaces were filled with wiretapping devices that continuously recorded every conversation of citizens on sidewalks, benches or in parks.

According to him, the madness of the dictatorship knew no bounds, while today, he said, Edi Rama has installed an even deeper and more all-encompassing surveillance system than the one from that era.

He stated that, after the installation of full internet recording and interception equipment in Albania during the blocking of TikTok, which according to him continues to control online communications in the country, the prime minister has placed the project called Smart City at the disposal of the State Police.

Berisha described Smart City as a project based on robotic cameras with very high resolution and major capacities, which in Europe is administered entirely by municipalities and used only for services to citizens.

He said that one such camera is monitoring day and night the protest and peaceful uprising of Albanian citizens and youth, while adding that the same cameras have been installed on all four sides of Tirana and that they are not administered by the municipality, but by the police state and the State Police.

Berisha then referred to a statement by the general director of the narcopolice, whom he identified as Skënder Troplini or Çela, quoting the phrase: “The police have entered the era of intelligent monitoring, technology determines the culprit.”

According to him, this clearly shows the nature of the police state, since cameras that should be administered by municipalities in the best interest of citizens are now managed by the narcopolice for their strict surveillance.

Berisha said that the classic Smart City model manages traffic, public transport, smart lighting, parking, the environment and municipal services, while being administered by municipalities and urban institutions, far from the police. According to him, the focus of this model is convenience and the best possible service for citizens.

He then spoke about what he called the project of the Albanian narco-state, saying that it extends to 20 cities and border crossing points, is administered by the state’s narcopolice, which according to him means by the drug cartels, and includes an AI platform, an advanced control center, cameras, radars, ANPR and an optical fiber network.

He stressed that this system aims to monitor and control the territory, with none of the municipal functions of Smart City, but only police functions such as operational maintenance, monitoring, security, control and centralized supervision.

According to Berisha, this model has the police as its main operator, the police as its command center as well, and also uses AI surveillance, real-time analysis, license plate reading, movement tracking and the potential for biometric data, especially facial data, as well as data storage and analysis.

He said that this amounts to the destruction of privacy and civil liberties and defined it as a centralized police-command-center model, therefore a police state and a narco-state, calling “Smart City”-“Safe Nation” an Orwellian concept.

He went on to list the differences that, according to him, exist between a smart city and a safe nation: from improving quality of life and public services to controlling the population and preventing alleged threats; from traffic, transport, energy, parking and pollution services to security, order, identification and behavior monitoring; from anonymous aggregated data for analysis and planning to identifiable personal data in real time in the police state.

He continued by saying that the difference also lies in the shift from being limited only to services to a broad and continuous reach across many digital levels, from open analytical platforms to AI cameras, facial recognition, data and integration into databases, from data protection laws to broad, often vague and frightening laws, as well as from data and algorithms that are often public to a total lack of transparency.

According to Berisha, the difference is also from the benefit of better services for citizens to their surveillance and profiling in the police state, from use in the function of public services, urban planning and public policy to control, investigation, prosecution, behavior prediction and citizen profiling, and from low risk to privacy if oversight and auditing exist to high risk to privacy, political abuse and discrimination.

He said these are the essential differences between a safe nation and a smart city.

Berisha declared that this is another step by Edi Rama, who, according to him, terrified by Albanian citizens, is trying to dominate them by placing them under full control from morning until evening in their every movement.

According to him, this goes beyond all authoritarian regimes and is in blatant contradiction with Albania’s Constitution and the EU directive, constituting a serious violation of national and international law, which he said he condemns in the strongest terms.

Berisha went on to salute the tens of thousands of citizens who, according to him, despite extraordinary conditions and unprecedented heat, once again filled the streets and boulevards of Tirana yesterday until the early hours of the morning, demanding the immediate departure of the narco-dictator.

He called on Albanian citizens, young and old, to join this protest at any time and on every occasion, calling it a magnificent protest that sows hope in every Albanian heart.

He also addressed an appeal to the diaspora, inviting it to remain, as it has until now, engaged in this great mission to save Albania from a regime that, according to him, in many respects has harmed the Albanian nation in its very existence more than any regime before it.

Berisha also strongly condemned what he said were the insults Edi Rama directs at Albanians in the largest international media outlets. He declared that neither Gaddafi, nor Saddam, nor Maduro allowed themselves the language that, according to him, Rama used toward Albanians in the Financial Times.

According to him, this demonstrates the prime minister’s boundless hatred toward Albanian citizens and that the language he used was shocking to the journalist and the audience present.

Berisha said that Edi Rama does not behave like a padrino, but much worse than the padrino of Albania, adding that he considers the country a sultanate of bygone times, in which he himself plays the role of the sultan, the judge, the police officer and every other function.

He insisted that Edi Rama must leave a minute sooner and added that even if he goes behind the sun, he will leave as an unparalleled thief of his nation, as the man who built in Albania the first and only narco-state in Europe.

Berisha further said that Rama will leave as the traitor of a nation against which, according to him, he did everything and carried out a calculated genocide to drive Albanians out of Albania, as a fierce enemy of Albanians in Albania, in Kosovo and everywhere in the world.

In the questions from journalists, Anisa Kadesha of RTSH asked Berisha how he assessed the five demands presented by the protesters, which included the demand to create a non-political transitional government for a 12-month term if the prime minister resigns.

In response, Berisha repeated that the first five demands are fully supported by the Democratic Party and that this support constitutes one of the most fundamental motives of its total commitment, not with symbols and slogans, but as Democratic Party membership and supporters, on the basis of civic fiber.

He added that the demands presented yesterday give protesters guarantees that they will be treated with the greatest seriousness both in direct national activity and at the international level.

Berisha also stressed that in all international connections and activities, the Democratic Party has defended the protesters’ just cause.

In the same response, he underlined that the opposition is ready to treat these demands with the utmost seriousness and insisted that Parliament suspend every other activity in order to address the just demands of the protesters, the youth protest and Albanian citizens.

Then SYRI TV journalist Marsi Korreshi asked Berisha about his repeated allegations that Edi Rama is preparing asylum for former deputy prime minister under investigation Belinda Balluku and whether he had more information on this.

Berisha replied that, according to him, she has been dealing with Lubi Balluku’s asylum and that this is the truth.

He added that the serious case files reviewed during this period show that Lubi Balluku and Edi Rama are co-chairs not of a structured criminal group, but of a structured criminal organization in the Albanian government.

Asked whether Edi Rama is also thinking about his own departure, Berisha said that without any doubt he is thinking about it.

Finally, he declared that he is following this issue and that the opposition calls on the countries with which Albania has relations to categorically reject any request for political asylum from any Albanian government official or politician, including Prime Minister Edi Rama and his ministers.

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