The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has warned that the failure to elect the president within the constitutional deadline will lead the country to early elections and, according to him, will make it impossible for the institutional commitment to oppose the sentencing decision against the four former leaders of the KLA in The Hague.
In a press conference, Kurti said that the issue of the president and that of the former leaders of the KLA are separate topics, but he emphasized that without electing a new president, the country will not be able to help the four former leaders of the KLA in appealing their first-degree sentence for war crimes by the Special Court of Kosovo in The Hague.
He emphasized that the process in The Hague will require time, commitment and an institutional strategy, while the non-election of the president, according to him, would create a direct obstacle to this commitment.
“They have been convicted in the first degree, while tonight at midnight we can go to the elections as if nothing happened. We must understand and treat it with sincerity. The issue there will take time and commitment, and I believe it will take a lot of nerves and we will never make a miracle because we vote for a draft law. We must all be prepared for this. How to make it even worse, if the president does not vote tonight, we can go to the elections within hours”, said Kurti.
Kurti said that the Government believes that the decision against the four former leaders of the KLA can be changed at the level of Appeal and that for this a state and national strategy is needed. According to him, the time for action in the Appeal process is limited and the institutions must be functional to take the necessary steps.
“We believe in correcting the Appeal and on the other hand a national state strategy to win this battle. We cannot deny the immediate obstacles we have towards that goal, which we all have together. So the issue of electing the president. Because not electing him or her not only leads us directly to the election but also prevents us all from dealing with the state and national strategy, but also with the Appeal, which is actually very urgent. No we will be able to deal with Apel next year, but this time I will”, he declared.
At the press conference, Kurti made a “public offer” to the Democratic Party of Kosovo to reach an agreement regarding the election of the president and the proposed changes to the Law on the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo in The Hague.
Kurti said that, if the PDK secures at least half of the votes of its 22 deputies for the election of Bekim Sejdi as the president of Kosovo, he will secure 62 votes from the deputies of the Vetëvendosje Movement and the partners of the governing coalition for the approval of the changes in the Special Law. According to him, Sejdiu continues to remain a candidate for president and for his election, the presence of at least 80 deputies is needed in the Assembly hall.
October 6 is the deadline for the election of the president of Kosovo. If the Assembly fails, it is dissolved and the country goes to new elections.
