Kosovo may head toward new snap parliamentary elections after President Vjosa Osmani dissolved parliament on Friday following lawmakers’ failure to elect a new head of state before a constitutional deadline, local media reported.
Osmani’s presidential term expires on April 4, and the Assembly was required to elect a successor at least 30 days before that date. Lawmakers, however, failed to reach agreement on candidates, deepening political uncertainty in the country.
“The deadline is clear – it expired last night at midnight and a president cannot be elected after that moment,” Osmani said while announcing the decision to dissolve parliament.
“Lawmakers had 23 days to fulfil this constitutional obligation and chose not to do so. The fact that the Assembly decided not to use those days does not change the Constitution and does not nullify my duty to dissolve a parliament that failed to meet its responsibility,” she added.
The development comes only weeks after Kosovo formed new institutions in mid-February 2026 following two cycles of parliamentary elections in 2025.
In the December 2025 vote, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Self-Determination movement (Vetëvendosje) won the largest share of votes, enabling Kurti to secure a third term as prime minister.
After the government was formed, however, parliament was required to complete another key process — the election of the country’s president.
To nominate a presidential candidate, at least 30 lawmakers must sign the proposal, while the election session can only proceed if at least two candidates are nominated.
In the first two rounds of voting, a candidate must secure 80 votes in the 120-seat parliament, while a simple majority of 61 votes is sufficient in the third round.
At the March 5 session, 66 lawmakers from the governing coalition were present, while opposition parties boycotted the process.
Lawmakers had earlier convened to consider constitutional amendments proposed by Osmani that would introduce the direct election of the president by citizens, but the session was suspended due to a lack of quorum.
Political analysts had previously warned that the outcome of the parliamentary elections would influence the choice of the next president.
Following the December 2025 vote, political analyst Ilir Deda said much would depend on Prime Minister Kurti’s position on whether Osmani would seek a second term.
Osmani said late last year that she was ready to run again, but Vetëvendosje — the party that originally nominated her — did not mention her name among its candidates.
Kurti earlier suggested that Murat Jashari, the son of Rifat Jashari and a member of the family of Kosovo Liberation Army commander Adem Jashari, could be a suitable candidate for the presidency, but Jashari said he had no political ambitions.
Vetëvendosje later nominated Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Minister Glauk Konjufca as its presidential candidate.
Opposition parties have meanwhile expressed reservations about Osmani, accusing her of “bias in favour of the government”.
If held, the vote would mark Kosovo’s third snap parliamentary election since 2024, bringing the country closer to what some analysts describe as the “Bulgarian scenario”, where six snap elections have been held since 2021 and a seventh is expected.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognised by around 100 countries, though the exact number remains disputed. Authorities in Pristina say 121 states recognise Kosovo, while Belgrade claims the number is significantly lower.
Five European Union member states — Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Romania — do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, while major global powers that also withhold recognition include Russia, China, Brazil and India.
Since declaring independence, Kosovo has joined several international organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and FIFA, but it is still not a member of the United Nations.
Court Interpretation Could Determine Next Steps
Some analysts say elections could still be avoided depending on the Constitutional Court’s interpretation of the legal deadlines.
Political analyst Veton Surroi said the final decision on whether Kosovo will head to snap elections depends on how the Constitutional Court interprets constitutional deadlines related to the presidential election.
According to him, only the court has the authority to determine whether parliament is still within the constitutional process of electing a president or whether that deadline has already expired.
Surroi said that while legal uncertainty persists, institutions should avoid rushed decisions.
“In such situations, institutional prudence would require waiting for legal clarification,” he wrote.
He also criticised the decree dissolving parliament signed on the morning of March 6, describing it as a hasty move at a moment when a request had already been submitted to the Constitutional Court that could determine whether the presidential election process was still within the constitutional deadline.
According to Surroi, the Constitutional Court had neither the obligation nor the practical possibility to convene overnight to immediately review the initiative submitted by the Vetëvendosje movement.
However, he added, the decision to dissolve parliament could have waited at least until the end of the court’s working day in order to avoid the impression of a rushed decision.
He said the court’s eventual ruling would provide the necessary legal clarity for the next institutional steps.
If the court determines that there is still a constitutional possibility to avoid snap elections, responsibility would fall on political parties to reach a consensus on electing a president within the timeframe defined by the court, he said.
Otherwise, institutions would need to begin preparations for new parliamentary elections.
Constitutional Reform Proposal Unlikely to Resolve Crisis
In a separate reaction, public policy analyst Eugen Cakolli said the proposal for the direct election of the president could form part of broader constitutional reform, but that the proposed amendments do not offer an immediate solution to the current institutional crisis.
Cakolli said both the procedure and the substance of the amendments show that the initiative does not address the potential crisis arising from parliament’s failure to elect a president.
According to him, amending the constitution requires at least 80 votes in parliament, including at least 14 votes from lawmakers representing non-majority communities — a high threshold that requires broad political consensus.
“In the current parliamentary circumstances, such a majority is extremely difficult to secure,” he said.
Even if the amendments were adopted, the draft stipulates that presidential elections must be called at least six months before the expiry of the president’s regular mandate — a rule designed for stable institutional conditions.
In the current situation, Cakolli said, that formula cannot practically be applied, meaning any constitutional changes could realistically take effect only from 2031.
He warned that otherwise the country could face a constitutional vacuum, as the six-month rule cannot be met and no clear transitional mechanism has been provided.
Cakolli added that transitioning to a new model for electing the president would also require the adoption of an entire legal framework regulating the electoral process, candidate nominations and election administration.
“To avoid institutional uncertainty and a constitutional vacuum, any constitutional change requires time, broad political consensus and a clear legal transition process,” he said.