PRISHTINA, Oct 6 /ATA/ – Kosovo’s parliament faces a midnight deadline on Tuesday to elect a new president, with political parties still seeking an agreement to resolve the standoff.
The deadline set by the Constitutional Court requires the presidential election process to be completed by October 6.
The political deadlock has coincided with protests in Prishtina over proposed changes to legislation governing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, with yesterday’s demonstrations turning tense and police using tear gas.
Protests continued into the evening, with demonstrators calling for the draft amendments to the law on the Specialist Chambers to be approved in a second reading. Parliament approved the bill in principle on Monday in an extraordinary session, with 91 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions.
Following the session, Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti met Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Bedri Hamza, but the talks failed to produce an agreement on either the presidential election or the Specialist Chambers legislation.
Further protests have been announced for Tuesday by the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Organisation (OVL-UÇK), calling for the legislation to be approved in a second reading.
In a September 23 ruling, Kosovo’s Constitutional Court clarified that the 60-day deadline for electing a president began on August 8, when parliament was constituted, and expires on October 6.
Failure to elect a president within the deadline could trigger another political crisis and potentially lead to new parliamentary elections, depending on the subsequent constitutional process.
Kosovo has held three parliamentary elections in the past two years. The February 2025 election failed to produce a government, while a second election, held on December 28, 2025, was followed by an institutional deadlock over the election of a president and ultimately the dissolution of parliament in April. A third parliamentary election was held on June 7, 2026.
/KosovaPress/u.sh/
