Haliti: Kurti chiefly responsible for Kosovo heading toward new elections

The main culprit behind Kosovo heading toward new elections is Prime Minister Albin Kurti, says Xhavit Haliti, a member of parliament from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK). According to him, the leader of the Self-Determination Movement has a “phobia” of others and distrusts any kind of agreement on the president.

Haliti also mentions other opposition parties, adding that none of them was willing to support a figure not affiliated with their own party.

He therefore stresses that, in the current situation—although only three days remain before the constitutional deadline for electing a president—the issue is closed for the DPK.

However, in an interview with Kosova Press, Haliti says that if Kurti meets the DPK’s demands within the constitutional deadline, they could sit down again and discuss the presidential election.

“The main culprit is mistrust—first and foremost, mistrust toward one another. Secondly, there is the mistrust that Albin Kurti has toward everyone. I have the impression that he has a phobia of others and does not believe in agreements or in people’s word. That is a problem, and I think no party was willing to create, propose, or support a figure not linked to its own party. We have declared the matter closed. But it is closed because Albin, or Self-Determination, did not meet the DPK’s demands. Still, I believe we are not at war. We have disagreements, and if the DPK’s demands are met and Albin is ready to discuss concretely the positions held by the DPK, I believe there would be no obstacle to meeting again,” Haliti emphasized.

Haliti also criticizes Kurti for what he described as “acrobatics” aimed at avoiding having an opposition-backed candidate for president.

“Since Albin initially requested that we put forward our own candidate and said he would provide the additional number—namely, eight signatures that must be submitted to the Assembly under the Constitution—we did not agree with this option. Because we know that a Democratic Party of Kosovo candidate cannot be elected unless Self-Determination votes for him. The second option proposed by Mr. Bedri Hamza was to have two candidates from the Democratic Party, without other candidates, and to have an agreement that Self-Determination would vote for both of them. Albin Kurti is leading the country toward elections; the opposition is not. The opposition cannot lead it there if he is to cooperate with the opposition. He must make a concession,” Haliti believes.

He also explained details about the way Kurti communicates with DPK leader Bedri Hamza, noting that he did not approve of this type of communication, particularly the manner in which meetings are called and organized for the election of the president.

“I saw the communication that Bedri showed us—communication via messages. I did not like the way he invites colleagues or addresses them as colleagues, even political opponents. If you invite them, then all of us are invited. He calls them to a meeting and says: I am ready to meet you in the office where they met, on a date such as Monday, on a date such as Tuesday, at a certain time, or on a date such as Thursday, at a certain time—and you decide when you want to come,” Haliti stressed.