The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, said that during his meeting with Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti of the Vetëvendosje (LVV) movement, no agreement was reached on the presidency, as the constitutional deadline for its election approaches.
“There were no names, no proposals, no willingness for consensus. Impositions are not an appropriate solution for the LDK,” Abdixhiku told the media after the meeting at the Kosovo Assembly.
He said he is open to another meeting if it could bring a solution but expressed skepticism about the proposal for each party to go to the session with its own candidate.
“For a contest, LDK has no solution. That procedure is designed to fail,” Abdixhiku added, noting that this option would only lead to new elections.
He declined to comment on specific names mentioned so far but stated that the LDK will not accept candidates who would function as an “extension of the government.”
The meeting took place at a time when political parties have still not reached a consensus on a unifying figure, while the Prime Minister left open the possibility that, in the absence of an agreement, each party could nominate its own candidate in the Assembly.
Before the meeting, Kurti refused to discuss the names suggested for the presidency, saying only that “someone is needed who can secure 80 votes.”
Kurti previously expressed his belief that Murat Jashari, son of Rifat Jashari and member of Adem Jashari’s family, would be a suitable figure for the presidency, emphasizing that the country needs a personality who “can face challenges” in the current geopolitical context.
However, Murat Jashari has stated that he has no ambition for the position.
Current President Vjosa Osmani has expressed a desire for a second term, but Vetëvendosje, which proposed her in the first term, has not mentioned her as a candidate. Opposition parties have criticized Osmani for, as they claim, bias in favor of the government.
According to the Constitution of Kosovo, at least 30 MP signatures are required to propose a presidential candidate. Vetëvendosje holds 57 MPs, while no other party alone has 30 votes.
To elect a president, at least 80 votes are required in one of the first two rounds of voting, or 61 votes in the third round, out of 120 MPs in the Assembly.
Kurti said that if a broadly supported figure cannot be agreed upon, one option is for each party to propose its own candidate and for the election to proceed as a contest in the Assembly.
In recent weeks, former minister Arsim Bajrami has also expressed readiness to run, although without clear support from other parties.
If the Assembly fails to elect a president within the constitutional deadlines, the country faces dissolution of the Assembly and early parliamentary elections.
