Kosovo's acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, although expressing optimism, admitted that he will have difficulty securing the necessary votes to elect the country's new president in the 120-seat Assembly to avoid a new round of early elections, after meetings he held late Wednesday.
Kurti met separately with the leader of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, as well as eight MPs from non-Serb communities and one from the Serb community, in an effort to garner the necessary support for Bekim Sejdiu's candidacy, following a fragile agreement reached on Monday with the LDK.
"I thanked them for their contribution and commitment. We will continue to move forward, trying to avoid new elections now that we have an agreement," Kurti said after meeting with MPs Albert Kinolli, Artan Asllani, Emilja Rexhepi, Elbert Krasniqi, Fatma Taçi, Fikrim Damka, Veton Berisha, Nenad Rashiq and Rasim Demiri.
Previously, Kurti had met Abdixhiku.
Their meeting comes after six LDK MPs publicly opposed Sejdiu's candidacy for the new president of Kosovo, shaking up the agreement.
Speaking about this, Kurti said that this was a negative development, but added: "Keep in mind that in this legislature we are better in terms of the number of votes for president... now we have 74 votes for president."
Kurti did not explain how he would be able to find at least the six votes needed to reach the minimum required to elect the country's new president.
He added that in the meeting with Abdixhiku he spoke about discussions following developments in the two parties in recent days.
The two parties held internal meetings on Tuesday, after six LDK MPs, Avdullah Hoti, Hykmete Bajrami, Arben Gashi, Armend Zemaj, Kujtim Shala and Janina Ymeri, said they do not support Sejdiu's candidacy for president.
"Now we need a new meeting of the presidency to see what the possibilities are to move forward. We are optimistic, although the situation is difficult," Kurti stressed.
Meanwhile, Abdixhiku said after the meeting with Kurti that he fears that these developments now make it impossible for the country to emerge from the political and institutional crisis that has plagued it for almost two years.
"Unfortunately, as far as I can see, with the positions made public, we are creating a situation of numerical impossibility to get out of the crisis," said Abdixhiku.
Emilja Rexhepi from the New Democratic Party, from the Bosniak community, told Radio Free Europe that Kurti informed her about the agreement with the LDK for the president, but she does not feel optimistic about the way out of the crisis.
She said that, although MPs from non-Serb communities support Sejdiu's candidacy for president, "I think it is impossible for the candidate to be voted in without the support of other political representatives of Albanian parties."
"In my opinion, we are heading towards new early elections," she said.
Both Kurti and Abdixhiku have accused these six LDK MPs of wanting to take the country to elections.
Their opposition makes the agreement between LVV and LDK on the president insufficient for his election in the Kosovo Assembly.
The presence of 80 deputies in the 120-seat Assembly is required for the vote for the president of Kosovo to be valid.
LVV has 53 mandates, while LDK has 18.
But, after the opposition of six MPs, according to Abdixhiku, only 12 LDK MPs are willing to support Sejdiu.
Even if the MPs from non-Serb communities who have collaborated with the LVV are added to this count, the number remains below the necessary threshold.
Other opposition parties, the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 22 seats, and the Alliance with 7, have rejected talks with Kurti about the new president.
Due to disagreements between parliamentary parties over Vjosa Osmani's successor, Kosovo held early elections in June.
And it risks holding new elections, which would be the fourth parliamentary elections in the last two years, if a new president is not elected by early September.
The country has had an acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, since Vjosa Osmani's term ended in April.
Haxhiu, according to the Constitution, can only hold this position for six months - until October 4th.
The highest legal act in the country does not foresee what happens if this period ends and the country does not have a new president. /Taken from Radio Free Europe
