Gogic: Kurti wants a president before the Hague verdict, Sejdiu fits the desired profile on paper

Political scientist Ognjen Gogic assessed that Bekim Sejdiu is a compromise solution for the candidate for president of Kosovo, but that the cause of the institutional crisis in Kosovo, which has lasted a year and a half, has never been a matter of finding the right person, but rather the parties’ unwillingness to reach an agreement for their own reasons and calculations.

Gogic told Kosovo Online that Bekim Sejdiu, whom the Self-Determination Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo agreed yesterday to put forward as their joint presidential candidate, is a compromise solution and that he has a profile suitable for being presented to the public and voters as a consensus candidate.

In his assessment, the agreement was reached because Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister and Self-Determination leader Albin Kurti concluded that he needed the formation of the new institutions to be completed before the verdict is handed down to former KLA leaders Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli in The Hague, because, in his view, the verdict could affect voters’ mood in favor of opposition parties that emerged from the KLA.

“The issue is that the first-instance verdicts for Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli are due on September 16, and that is a date that could change a great deal in Kosovo. So, whatever the verdict may be, it will have major consequences in Kosovo and for Serb-Albanian relations, but it will also have major consequences for the political situation in Kosovo. It could significantly affect the mood, primarily in favor of the parties that emerged from the KLA, namely the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance. And it is not at all surprising that these two parties are precisely the ones outside the consensus and are trying to somewhat radicalize the political situation in Kosovo through protests and various demonstrations,” Gogic said.

According to him, Kurti concluded that it was not in his interest to prolong the crisis and wait for the verdict, but that it would be better for him to complete the formation of the institutions beforehand and have the president of Kosovo elected.

Gogic assessed that, on paper, Bekim Sejdiu fits the profile of the president they had been looking for, that he is a figure outside politics who has authority and integrity, but that he is not an ideal candidate for Kurti and represents a certain risk, because he bases his authority on professional achievements and does not depend on politics, meaning, Gogic says, that he could potentially oppose Kurti in certain situations.

“If, for example, Kurti’s government does things that are unlawful, he can exercise the right of suspensive veto, return certain laws to parliament, or even address the Constitutional Court himself. He himself was a Constitutional Court scholar, so he is not an ideal candidate for Kurti,” Gogic said.

As for the LDK and Abdixhiku, Gogic says it is quite possible that they have reached some agreement on what the LDK will receive in exchange for Sejdiu’s candidacy.

Gogic noted that the next test for the LDK is approaching, namely whether Abdixhiku is able to secure the agreement of all LDK members of parliament.

“The question is also whether the other members of parliament will see their own interest in this, because there is dissatisfaction within the parliamentary group. In general, there have already been voices saying that the LDK Presidency and party bodies have not yet supported the proposal,” Gogic said.

According to him, the agreement on Sejdiu is the result of a compromise by the LDK, which, Gogic added, is guided by party calculations.

“The LDK does not have the strength for another electoral race. They have been in constant decline, and at the same time Abdixhiku is finding it increasingly difficult to channel and control discontent within the party, and the question is whether he would be able to survive another election at the helm of the party. Osmani has come to terms with the fact that she has no chance of being re-elected as president of Kosovo, while Kurti has other calculations. In other words, he does not want to wait for Hashim Thaci or Kadri Veseli to return to Kosovo,” Gogic said.