Self-Determination’s tactics in a time crunch over the presidential election: The Jashari family back in focus, Osmani sidelined

Three days before the deadline for Kosovo to elect a new president expires, the largest parliamentary party, Self-Determination continues to maneuver. It has shifted the focus to the Jashari family, despite Murat Jashari’s public refusal to accept the post, while also mentioning the possibility of a party-backed candidate, without clarifying whether Vjosa Osmani remains in the race at all.
By turning to the Jashari family, interlocutors of Kosovo Online assess, Self-Determination is seeking to ingratiate itself both with the family and with the public. The Jashari name in Kosovo is described as a unifying and “safe card,” yet there are also views that the search for a unifying candidate is merely a façade behind which Albin Kurti is concealing his unwillingness to support Osmani’s re-election.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

Without the backing of at least one opposition party—whose MPs would need to vote in the first two rounds or provide a quorum in the third—a new president of Kosovo cannot be elected.
Yesterday’s meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Bedri Hamza failed to produce a name acceptable to both sides. Hamza stated that PDK’s last official offer was for the president of Kosovo to be elected based on that party’s proposal.
The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) has announced that its leader, Ramush Haradinaj, is no longer a possible presidential candidate and that Kosovo now faces two scenarios: either early elections or an agreement on a candidate capable of securing the support of PDK and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
LDK is expected to present its conditions tomorrow at a meeting between Kurti and its leader, Lumir Abdixhiku.
At today’s session of Self-Determination’s General Council, Kurti once again brought the Jashari family into the spotlight.
“This process can be carried out either through the election of a unifying figure, such as a Jashari candidate, or through a fair and democratic competition among candidates nominated by political entities in accordance with electoral procedures. As the Self-Determination Movement, we are ready for both options,” the party leader said.
Murat Jashari, a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pristina and nephew of Adem Jashari—the founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), who was killed in 1998 in a Serbian police operation—has already stated that he has no political ambitions and that another name should be found for the presidency, emphasizing that the Jashari family belongs to all Albanians.
Nevertheless, Kurti reiterated today that he believes Murat Jashari’s election would be both appropriate and timely, as a figure like him would enjoy support across the entire political spectrum and would be an honor for Kosovo.
According to political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri, candidates from the Jashari family are always mentioned when presidential elections arise because it is symbolically the most powerful family in Kosovo. Political parties, he told Kosovo Online, turn to the family because they lack strategies to improve the quality of Kosovo’s society, enhance prosperity, and take meaningful steps in the economy and foreign investment.
“The Jashari family and the KLA hold the greatest moral capital, and it is natural for parties to want to use that, because it is a safe card in their deck and there is always absolute and unanimous respect within Kosovo’s society for the Jashari family due to their sacrifice,” he noted.

However, Muhaxhiri believes that members of the family should avoid entering what he described as the typical style of Balkan politics, as doing so would diminish the aura they currently enjoy in Kosovo’s society.
He described as highly appropriate the family’s negative stance toward involvement in what he termed “dirty politics,” adding that this now creates a problem for Prime Minister Albin Kurti and opposition leaders, who must find another suitable candidate if the current president, Vjosa Osmani, is not their first choice.
Political scientist Ognjen Gogic says that potential candidates from the Jashari family are being mentioned out of Self-Determination’s desire to curry favor with both the family and the public.
Besides Murat Jashari, he notes that Bekim Jashari—formerly mayor of Skenderaj (Srbica)—or Lulzim Jashari, the son of Adem Jashari, could also have the capacity to run for president. However, none of them has expressed interest in the position.
“A candidate from that family is considered a safe option for the party proposing the presidential nominee because no one can vote against someone from the Jashari family, and they are seen as symbolizing unity in Kosovo. However, members of that family have always refused. They have not wanted to engage in day-to-day politics at the central level or enter into the political divisions among Albanian parties, and they have remained on the sidelines,” Gogic told Kosovo Online.

Nevertheless, Gogic believes that Kurti can secure the election of any candidate he proposes, including Vjosa Osmani, and describes the search for a so-called unifying figure as Kurti’s “political feint,” arguing that Kurti does not want Osmani to receive another mandate.
“It is not that insurmountable. Opposition parties ultimately need to provide a quorum, and it is difficult to imagine that they would be so bold as to trigger a new crisis and provoke new parliamentary elections. What is actually happening is that Kurti is seeking an alternative to Vjosa Osmani and does not want her. It is not that the opposition opposes Osmani and that Kurti cannot secure their support; rather, Kurti is looking for an alternative name under the pretext that he supposedly cannot secure opposition backing for Osmani’s election,” Gogic assessed.
The process of finding a presidential candidate capable of passing in the Assembly—so as to avoid new elections—is entering a time crunch. Muhaxhiri criticizes the situation, noting that everyone knew a deadline was approaching and that there was ample time to reach a solution.
“They had all the time in the world to find an appropriate candidate, to discuss potential politicians who could fill the position of the new president of Kosovo. This process will affect the presidency of whoever becomes president, because there will be consequences from being elected in this manner, and that is not good,” he concluded.