Pristina, Oct 26, (dpa/GNA) – Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in office since 2021, has failed in his attempt to form a new government, potentially putting the country on a path to snap elections.
In a parliamentary vote in Pristina, his proposed administration received only 56 votes, short of the 61 required for approval.
Kurti’s leftist Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination) movement, won parliamentary elections in February, but unlike four years ago, fell short of a governing majority. He has been serving as prime minister in a caretaker capacity.
In Sunday’s vote, only a few minority representatives supported his programme alongside the outgoing ruling party. Lawmakers from the main opposition parties voted against it, with 48 votes opposed and four abstentions. Twelve of the 120 deputies did not take part in the ballot.
Following Kurti’s failure to form a government, President Vjosa Osmani must, within 10 days, nominate another politician to try.
The most likely candidate would come from the conservative Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which finished second in the February election. However, PDK leader Memli Krasniqi told reporters after Sunday’s vote, that his party would not accept the mandate, as it could not secure a majority in parliament.
If no alternative coalition can be formed, Osmani will have to call new elections.
The prolonged political turmoil risks economic repercussions for the young Balkan state. It now seems increasingly unlikely that a state budget for 2026 will be passed in time, and millions of euros in EU aid could remain unclaimed.
Kosovo, now almost entirely populated by ethnic Albanians, was formerly a province of Serbia. After an armed uprising against Serbian rule and a NATO intervention in 1999, the territory declared independence in 2008.
GNA