Muhaxhiri: A possible compromise over certain institutional positions to enable the election of a president

Analyst Artan Muhaxhiri told Kosovo Online that it is well known that Albin Kurti is not inclined toward compromise, but that without compromise he cannot secure the 80 votes needed to elect a new president of Kosovo, even though he won 51 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections. Agreements with the opposition, he believes, could be reached over the post of speaker of parliament or other positions.

According to Muhaxhiri, the situation is delicate and it will be very difficult to reach an agreement.

“The key is in the hands of the opposition. I do not think that the PDK will cooperate with Kurti, and I also believe that the LDK will now demand something substantial in return, unlike last time when they voted for Vjosa Osmani without asking for anything. They will have to ask for something big because their election result was very poor, so they have no other option but to gain something by helping Mr Kurti elect a new president,” Muhaxhiri believes.

He says that compromises can be made at different levels and may relate, for example, to certain institutional positions.

“This could be the post of speaker of parliament, or an agreement on new judges for the Constitutional Court, or some other matters, but in any case there must be a compromise. Kurti cannot impose a candidate, whoever that may be. I am one hundred percent certain that the opposition would not give him the votes in that case and that we would go to new elections,” Muhaxhiri is convinced.

Kurti, he says, showed last year through blockades in parliament and government that he is not inclined toward compromise, but that this time he is in a much more difficult position because he has 51 percent of the vote from the December parliamentary elections and needs to make small compromises.

“If he does not make even those small compromises, then that will be a bad image for him, of course, provided that the opposition knows how to take advantage of this new situation,” our interlocutor adds.

He notes that the names of presidential candidates are not important because Kurti can propose whoever he wants, but it will not be someone with real political authority and power.

“He will want the new president to be on the same wavelength as him, just as President Osmani was, especially on important matters, key decisions and major state strategies. I do not think he will choose anyone who could say ‘no’ to him on major or important state strategies and moments,” Muhaxhiri points out.