The mandate of current President Vjosa Osmani expires on April 4, while the final deadline to elect a new head of state is March 4.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the situation surrounding the election of a new president is “not easy,” but pledged to seek agreement with the two other major Albanian parties to avoid snap elections.
The mandate of current President Vjosa Osmani expires on April 4, while the final deadline to elect a new head of state is March 4. If lawmakers fail to secure the required majority, parliamentary elections would have to be held within 45 days.
“We will make maximum efforts to avoid elections due to failure to elect the president,” Kurti said after meeting Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Lumir Abdixhiku.
Kurti noted that neither his Self-Determination Movement, nor LDK, nor the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) currently has an official candidate. He stressed that any nominee must secure at least two-thirds of lawmakers — 80 out of 120 votes — and ideally more to avoid procedural failure.
Self-Determination holds 57 seats, making cross-party agreement essential. Abdixhiku said there are only two possible paths forward: a broad political consensus or a formal inter-party agreement on a candidate’s name, both requiring a two-thirds majority.
Failure to elect a president by the deadline would automatically trigger new parliamentary elections. | BGNES