World Affairs
Kosovo parties agree on presidential candidate after prolonged deadlock
The parties and minority lawmakers appear able to clear the 80-vote threshold, but parliament has not yet scheduled the decisive votes.
Executive summary
- The agreement: Vetevendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo agreed to support law professor Bekim Sejdiu for president.Assembly of Kosovo — acting president welcomes candidate agreementReuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
- The stakes: The agreement could end nearly two years of political deadlock that has delayed institutional appointments, European Union reforms and access to EU funding.Reuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
- The votes: The two parties hold 76 of parliament's 120 seats and, with several minority parties, can reach the more than 80 votes required to elect a president.Reuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
- What remains: Lawmakers still must elect parliamentary leadership, approve a government and hold the presidential vote; no date for those steps was announced.Assembly of Kosovo — acting president welcomes candidate agreementReuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
Kosovo's largest political party and a major opposition party have agreed to support law professor Bekim Sejdiu for president, creating a parliamentary path to end a political deadlock that has lasted nearly two years. The acting president and parliamentary speaker, Albulena Haxhiu, welcomed the agreement between Vetevendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo on Monday but said the process still must be completed in parliament.Assembly of Kosovo — acting president welcomes candidate agreementReuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
Vetevendosje won 58 seats in the 120-member parliament in Kosovo's June 7 snap election, while the Democratic League won 18. Reuters reported that the parties, together with several minority-party lawmakers, can assemble more than the 80 votes required to elect a president. That arithmetic makes the agreement consequential, but it is not yet a completed election.Reuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
Sejdiu, 51, teaches law at the University of Pristina and previously served as Kosovo's ambassador to Turkey and consul general in New York. His candidacy emerged after repeated failures to elect a president helped trigger the June election, the country's third national vote in less than 18 months.Reuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
The political impasse has delayed reforms tied to Kosovo's European Union ambitions and slowed access to EU funding, according to Reuters. Brussels has repeatedly pressed Kosovo to establish stable institutions capable of carrying out accession-related reforms.Reuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president
The timetable remains unsettled. Lawmakers still need to convene, complete the election of parliamentary leadership, approve a government and vote on the presidency. Haxhiu described the agreement as an important step toward restoring fully functioning institutions, while emphasizing that parliament must finish the process.Assembly of Kosovo — acting president welcomes candidate agreementReuters — Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president