Kosovo held parliamentary elections in February 2025, but the year could easily end without a new Government.
The Vice President of the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV), Glauk Konjufca, has until November 19 to propose the new government composition to the Assembly, to see if it has the necessary votes to form the new executive.
On the day he was appointed as a representative, Konjufca called on other political parties to put aside their grudges and vote for a temporary Government until April next year – when the mandate of the current president, Vjosa Osmani, expires – but the major Albanian parties made it clear that they do not have a vote for him.
Konjufca is the second representative of the LVV, after the head of the party, Albin Kurti, who will try to form the new Government.
This party, although it won the most votes in the elections at the beginning of the year, did not secure enough seats in the Assembly to elect the Government alone.
“Kurti 2.5”, “Konjufca 1” or another?
Naim Jakaj, from the Kosovo Institute of Law (IKD), tells Radio Free Europe that he believes that the cabinet that Konjufca will present will be the same as the cabinet proposed by Kurti, and if the composition and political support have not changed, no new result is expected in the vote.
“In these circumstances, we consider that the only real possibility for a new government would be a political agreement to produce a technical government, with a limited mandate, and with some clear objectives, which are already problematic”, says Jakaj, citing as the most critical: the approval of the state budget and of some municipalities for the next year, the ratification of the international agreement related to the European Union Growth Plan, as well as the approval of the budget for Radio and Television of Kosovo (RTK).
Unlike Konjufca, who has not declared publicly about the formation of the Government, Kurti said days ago that this week there may be more details about the process. He repeated his position that it is not good for Kosovo to have elections both in December and in April.
“The deputies of the Republic are before the selection: either ‘Kurti 2.5’ until December, or ‘Konjufca 1’ until April. But, without either of them, it is not possible”.
Why is the hearing not being called?
Usually in Kosovo, the sessions for the formation of the Government are held soon after a figure is mandated for the prime minister.
For Jakaj, the current situation is unusual, and he is surprised with Konjufca.
“I had other expectations from Mr. Konjufca, for him to be faster and more dialogic with other parties, in order to find a solution.”
In addition to the lack of votes, it is widely spoken in Kosovo that another reason for the delay of the process is that the time of the eventual elections fits with the holidays of the diaspora in Kosovo, somewhere around December 28.
Jakaj hopes that the president will avoid this date, since it is a holiday period in most of the world.
“If the elections were held after December 24, it would be a problem, in the sense that there would be no international presence to monitor the extraordinary elections.”
According to the Constitution of Kosovo, if even the second mandate fails to form the Government, then President Osmani must announce the elections, which must be held no later than 40 days from the day of their announcement.
Osmani himself said a few days ago that he has told the leaders of the former opposition parties that if they do not want to accept a legislative initiative launched by the Government in office for the approval of laws – such as the one for the budget or the EU Growth Plan – then a formal request can be made on their behalf, but first the parties must be ready to vote on those laws in the Assembly.
“It is possible to solve this issue, but so far I have no answer”, she said.
According to the president, international agreements worth nearly 1 billion euros, the state budget and other issues should be voted on “by the representatives of this Assembly, who were voted on February 9 of this year, but have not yet decided anything”.
What if the country goes to elections?
Experts predict that a way will be found for Kosovo to have a budget by the end of March next year, while foreign funds risk losing.
If there are no functional institutions after March 31, then the country will face an unpredictable situation, since there will be no salaries for public sector workers, and even private sector operators will not be able to perform their jobs, in the absence of the fulfillment of obligations by the state.
However, the parties continue to disagree, and believe that early elections are the only real option.
Those familiar with political issues, on the other hand, do not expect major changes in the results, and repeat that only compromise will bring the country out of the crisis. It remains to be seen who will make the big turn./REL
