Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha spoke to the media outside the SPAK premises, where he appeared today. Asked whether the opposition would cooperate with the Socialist Party in selecting the new Prosecutor General, Berisha stated that this cooperation has ceased.

“After their act with the People’s Advocate, we are not participating in the selection of candidates. We have cut off all cooperation with the SP on selecting candidates,” he said.

Berisha also criticized the way the prosecution institution currently functions, saying that the powers of the Prosecutor General have been significantly limited and that his role has been reduced to statistics.

“Today, the Prosecutor General is the institution most stripped of any competence. In my view, this is a mistaken stripping away, as we are talking about a constitutional institution and leaving it with just some statistics constitutes a wrong act. I think some of the mistakes made can be corrected,” Berisha concluded.

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The news was confirmed through a press release.

The handover ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor, starting at 11:00 a.m.

The decision to appoint Gashi came on Tuesday, when Kosovo’s acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, decreed his appointment as head of the prosecution body.

In the competition for the position, following interviews held on July 1, 2026, Gashi received the highest score with 91.6 points. Atdhe Dema ranked second with 89.3 points, followed by Naim Abazi with 89 points, Rafet Halimi with 87 points, and Shqipdon Fazliu with 86.3 points.

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Former President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, has shared her memories from her time at the helm of the state, describing the political context that led to her election and the challenges she faced during her five-year term.

During a lecture at the “Prishtina International Summer University” on leadership, women’s empowerment and peacebuilding, Jahjaga stressed that her decision to accept the candidacy was not motivated by personal interests, but by the need to overcome the political blockade and restore institutional stability.

She recalled that between 2010 and 2011, Kosovo was facing deep political instability. According to constitutional provisions, if the president was not elected in the third round of voting, the country would be forced to hold early elections. At that time, within a year, Kosovo was on the brink of its third parliamentary round, while the political scene was extremely polarized. Jahjaga noted that the situation was even more delicate because the country was only in its third year after the declaration of independence, and some crises, under certain circumstances, could have been hard to manage or could have translated into negative consequences for the future.

Because political parties could not secure the necessary votes for their proposed candidates, the need arose for a consensus figure with integrity and experience in public service.

Jahjaga said that her name appeared on the list of candidates precisely because of her long career in the Kosovo Police. The main criteria, according to her, were high integrity, a clean past, and proven public service. She believes that her over 15-year experience in state administration, started immediately after the war as a young lawyer, made her name suitable. She joined the Kosovo Police, a male-dominated institution, with the aim of introducing the role of women into that structure, in a society she described as deeply patriarchal, where some professions were seen as exclusively for men.

The former president emphasized that throughout, her priority was the interest of the state and citizens, not her personal interest. She added that she had been raised with the belief that a high position does not belong to you, but to the country and the people. For this reason, refusing the offer was almost impossible, as the country was sinking deeper and deeper into crisis. Thus, she agreed to be the consensus candidate and, to her surprise, was elected in the first round with over 80% of the votes, making history as the first female president in Kosovo and Southeast Europe, and one of the youngest, just 35 years old. She was fully aware of the heavy burden she carried on her shoulders.

During her mandate, Jahjaga aimed for the presidential cabinet to have high representation of women and young people. Initially, the goal was for women to make up half of the staff, but later their share exceeded 70%. She believes that her presidency contributed to empowering women’s role in Kosovo’s institutional and political life.

Jahjaga pointed out that when she took office, women’s representation was based almost entirely on quotas, but today that quota has been exceeded. She added that in 2011, the institution of the Presidency enjoyed less than 12% public trust, while after five years, according to official polls, she left it with over 50% trust, and unofficial polls exceeded 70%. She expressed pride that this increase in trust was owed to the institution, not to her person.

Atifete Jahjaga was elected president in 2011 and served until 2016, being the first and youngest woman at the head of the state of Kosovo.

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She argued that the country is in a situation where the main institutions are being led by acting officials, therefore, according to her, it is important that a president with a full constitutional mandate be elected first.

“I believe the president should be elected first. Especially in the situation we are in now, since we do not have a single institution with a legitimate mandate, only acting officials,” Daka said.

Daka also stressed that electing the president at this stage would give Kosovo a functioning institution even if the country were to go to elections again.

According to her, if the government is formed first, then the process of electing the president could be delayed and accompanied by political conditions.

“If we elect the government, with this political constellation and these numbers that we have, we will certainly have delays in electing the president, but also conditions from the party that forms the government,” she said.

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At the government’s first in-person meeting after the snap elections, Kurti said: “We are meeting in person after the early parliamentary elections of February 7. Allow me to congratulate the citizens on a regular, free and democratic electoral process. Kosovo did not need these elections, and this result proves it, as we said and repeated before they took place.”

He stressed that, as soon as the result is certified, work and talks will begin on creating the new institutions.

“Be that as it may, the citizens once again spoke clearly. The result must be accepted and respected, and the will of the people must be implemented and translated into functional, democratic institutions, engaged and committed to development and well-being, education and healthcare, security and defense, industry and production, major infrastructure investments, from railways to dams and beyond. Therefore, as soon as the election result is certified, we will begin work and discussions on forming the new institutions, constituting the 11th legislature of the Assembly, forming the new government, and electing the president,” he said.

During the government meeting, Kurti also commented on the arrest of five former Serbian police officers suspected of involvement in the Recak massacre, while criticizing the lack of action on the issue for more than two decades.

“Nearly 27 and a half years after the Recak massacre, five former members of Serbia’s police have been arrested. While on the one hand we congratulate the institutions for the arrest of the suspects, after what was said to be a six-month investigation, we cannot fail to highlight the fact that until 2020, no one dealt with this case. Consequently, of the thousands of cases inherited from EULEX, not a single one was for the Recak massacre. On the one hand, we have arrests after a six-month investigation, and on the other, we have more than two decades of failure or no efforts whatsoever to prosecute those responsible, and zero commitment to justice in connection with this case,” he said.

Kurti opened the meeting by offering condolences to the families of three young people who lost their lives in two separate incidents in recent days.

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of our three young people in two different incidents in recent days. Sisters Erza and Aulona Zubaku in a road accident in Germany and Valmir Morina at his workplace in Prizren. On my behalf and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, I express my sincerest condolences to the Zubaku family from the municipality of Kamenica and the Morina family from the municipality of Malisheva,” he said.

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