Andric Rakic: Everyone is ready for elections except Kurti, who is unwilling to resign

Milica Andric Rakic, Program Manager at the NGO Social Initiative, asserts that Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has secured popularity among his voters by not submitting the European draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities to the Constitutional Court for review, despite the demands of Western allies who set it as a condition for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe during yesterday's Committee of Ministers session.

"This is the moment for him to call for elections; however, he is unwilling to resign, and the opposition is not ready to do him the favor of dissolving the Assembly. It's a mini-struggle between Kurti and the opposition, but everyone is currently ready for elections and expects them by summer at the latest," Andric Rakic told Kosovo Online.

She adds that by deciding not to send the draft to the court, Kurti has ensured his image as a sovereign and uncompromising leader who does not allow foreign powers to interfere in internal affairs and in shaping the future of Kosovo.

"His electoral base is focused on this kind of extreme sovereigntism, where the leader of the country can make decisions regardless of what anyone in the global world says. This logic is somewhat isolationist, but it is popular among his voter base. He may face issues with those voters who supported him for his anti-corruption promises. This move does not cater to all his voters, and some of them may withdraw their support on election day due to these overly isolationist tendencies, but I think it will be enough to keep him below 50 percent," Andric Rakic explains.