Baraliu: Parties must listen to citizens, Shiroka Pula's election is good news

Constitutional law professor Mazllum Baraliu said that the election of President Justina Shiroka Pula was good news after, as he put it, political parties had spent almost three years failing to demonstrate the maturity needed to take the interests of Kosovo's citizens into account.

Baraliu told Kosovo Online that during this period, the parties had focused exclusively on their own political interests.

“This was because communication between them was lacking. But then the decision of the Special Court in The Hague came, and the PDK became interested in amending the law, putting that issue at the forefront. It seems they even wanted to go to elections over it. Then everyone engaged in political maneuvering in their own way, communicating as if one were on one continent and the other on another,” Baraliu said.

He said that such conduct was inappropriate and that politicians should be willing to compromise.

“Above all, they should be willing to listen when it comes to the interests of the citizens who voted for them. That was missing, but in the end, I think the election of the president is good news for everyone, not only for the citizens of Kosovo but also for stability in the Balkans, because this odyssey lasted two and a half to three years, and another election cycle would only have brought back the situation we had before,” our interlocutor said.

Baraliu believes that political parties must listen to the interests of citizens and reach agreements accordingly, as this has proved necessary.