Kosovo's Parliament Set To Try Again To Elect A President

Kosovo’s parliament will try again on April 4 to elect a new president after failing the day before because not enough deputies took part in the vote.

“Due to the lack of a quorum, the session…will continue tomorrow,” Parliament speaker Glauk Konjufca announced after several hours of stalemate on April 3. The session on April 4 is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. local time.

To elect a president, 80 members of parliament out of 120 must take part. There were two rounds of voting during the April 3 session in which 78 and 79 deputies participated.

The stalemate left uncertain the election of the candidate of ruling Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) movement, Vjosa Osmani.

If parliament does not elect a president by April 5, snap parliamentary elections will automatically be called, potentially opening the door for Prime Minister Albin Kurti to increase his hold on the government.

Vetevendosje won 58 out of 120 seats in February’s election and formed a ruling coalition with nine parliamentarians representing non-Serb ethnic minorities.

Ahead of parliament’s adjournment late on April 3, Kurti and Osmani were able to cobble together the necessary majority as opposition and Serbian members boycotted the vote.

U.S. ambassador Philip Kosnett urged all members of parliament to take responsibility and participate in the session.

“The U.S. Government position remains unchanged. We support an Assembly vote for President,” Kosnett said on Twitter. “We call on all members of the Assembly to fulfill their responsibilities to the people of Kosovo by participating in the vote to ensure a quorum.”

The opposition last week accused Kurti of trying to stoke instability and provoke snap elections by submitting a surprise bill ahead of the presidential vote.

Vetevendosje on April 2 proposed fast-tracking a law through parliament that would allow Kosovars residing abroad to vote at embassies, potentially strengthening the party’s power in future elections.

The bill angered opposition lawmakers who had been expecting to vote for a new president during that day’s session. They narrowly defeated the fast-track proposal by just four votes but did not get around to voting for a president.

With reporting by Amra Zejenli and AFP