The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the leader of the main opposition force, Lumir Abdixhiku, have reached an agreement to present Bekim Sejdiu as a consensus candidate for the Head of State, after six months of institutional paralysis and with the aim of avoiding new early elections.
In light of the imminent possibility of dissolving Parliament, the ruling party Self-Determination and the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have decided to support the election of Sejdiu as president. Sejdiu served as a judge of the Constitutional Court between 2015 and 2021, in addition to serving as Kosovo's ambassador to Turkey and consul general in New York.
"I feel honored by the trust that both parties have given me; it is a great honor. Aware of the burden and responsibility that the position of president entails, and also taking into account the current political context, I have put myself at the service of the Republic and our citizens," Sejdiu stated at a joint appearance before the media alongside Kurti and Abdixhiku.
The pact comes after several weeks of negotiations between both formations, initiated after the constitutional mandate of President Vjosa Osmani officially ended last April. Since then, the President of the Assembly, Albulena Haxhiu, has been serving as the head of state on an interim basis for a period of six months.
Kurti's party won the legislative elections held in June, although it does not have the qualified majority of two-thirds necessary to appoint the head of state. The previous elections, the third in the same year, were called precisely due to the existing political blockage.