Kosovo’s caretaker prime minister, Albin Kurti, has failed to secure enough parliamentary support to form a government, deepening the country’s months-long political crisis.
Kurti’s Vetevendosje party (VV) secured only 56 votes, short of the 61 seats needed for a government, leaving the country without a viable administration almost nine months after elections.
The president will now need to announce a prime ministerial candidate for a second vote in parliament.
It is unclear whether Kurti, 50, could be considered, or whether an opposition candidate will be put forward instead.
But if no clear majority can be formed on the second vote in parliament, Europe’s youngest country could be forced to hold another legislative election.
Kurti — who stays on as the head of the caretaker government — told parliament ahead of the vote loss that every day without a new administration was “a day of loss for development, for the citizens, for the state”.
He warned that, without a government in place, the country risked going to fresh elections without a budget, which could jeopardise its ability to fund key services, including pensions, medicine supply, police and security services.
“A country without a budget is a country that cannot move forward.”