Kosovo’s ruling Vetevendosje movement on Wednesday nominated Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca for president, a day before a constitutional deadline to elect a new head of state, as political parties race to avoid early parliamentary elections.
The party of Prime Minister said in a statement it had put forward Konjufca’s name and called on other parliamentary groups to propose their own candidates in a bid to secure the necessary majority in the 120-seat assembly.
Konjufca, who was recently appointed foreign minister, is so far the only officially nominated candidate.
“Our political subject is convinced that in our country there are many worthy names for this important state function around whom consensus could be built so that we can move forward. At this stage, new elections would be completely unnecessary,” Vetevendosje said in a statement.
Kosovo’s constitution requires that a presidential candidate secure at least 30 signatures from lawmakers to be nominated. In the first two rounds of voting, a candidate must win two-thirds of the votes, or 80 out of 120 lawmakers. If no candidate achieves that threshold, a third round is held in which a simple majority of 61 votes is sufficient.
Vetevendosje has said it is prepared to allow opposition parties to nominate a candidate by providing the required 30 signatures.
The mandate of current President expires in early April. Osmani has previously expressed readiness to seek another term, but it remains unclear whether she has sufficient backing in parliament.
Opposition parties signaled no breakthrough in talks with Kurti. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said it had not received a formal invitation for a meeting with its leader, Lumir Abdixhiku, regarding a specific candidate.
Jehona Lushaku, head of the LDK parliamentary group, said responsibility for the process lies with the largest parliamentary party, Vetevendosje, which should present a name and secure the 30 signatures required to convene a session.
The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) also said no political agreement had been reached. Party leader Bedri Hamza said PDK would not propose a candidate without a prior political deal and reiterated that the president should either come from its ranks or be a mutually agreed “dignified name,” inside or outside party structures.
If the assembly fails to elect a president after three rounds of voting, early parliamentary elections must be held within 45 days, according to the constitution.
Lawmakers from various parties were seen meeting in parliamentary groups on Wednesday, but it remained unclear when the session to elect the president would be convened. The deadline for the vote expires on March 5, increasing pressure on the ruling majority to secure sufficient support and avert a fresh election.