Former acting Minister of Justice, Blerim Sallahu, has issued a statement clarifying the constitutional procedure for electing the President of Kosovo, emphasizing that the country will not proceed to new elections if a president is not elected by March 4, 2026, due to the non-participation of MPs in plenary sessions and votes, according to the constitution and the Constitutional Court rulings.
Sallahu explained that elections are only triggered if, after three voting rounds, no candidate receives at least 80 votes in the first two rounds or 61 votes in the third. He warned:
“If the President is elected after March 4, 2026, based on the number of votes under Article 86 of the Constitution, such an election would be unconstitutional.”
To prevent MPs from avoiding responsibility through absenteeism or abstention, Sallahu proposed that the presidential election process be submitted to the Constitutional Court immediately after it begins, with a request for a temporary measure to suspend the election deadline. He stressed that the Court has no alternative but to ensure MPs remain in the chamber and vote, referencing previous rulings KO 193/25 and KO-196/25, as well as the Venice Commission Opinion CDL-AD(2017)003.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, during a Vetëvendosje party meeting, stated that Murat Jashari, from the Jashari family, would be an ideal candidate for President, although Jashari himself recently declared that he has no personal ambition for the role unless in case of an extraordinary national emergency or civil war.
Kurti will meet on March 2, 2026, with LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku to continue discussions on the presidential election. Previous meetings with PDK leader Bedri Hamza have not resulted in an agreement on a candidate. Hamza confirmed that PDK proposed a candidate from the party to avoid new elections, though he acknowledged that the Jashari family formally declined involvement in politics.
Current President Vjosa Osmani, whose term ends April 5, 2026, still intends to seek a second term. While she has the support of Vetëvendosje MPs, her votes alone are insufficient to secure quorum for the first two rounds of voting, which require the presence of at least 80 MPs. Additional votes from PDK, LDK, and AAK will be necessary for a successful election.
Osmani was originally elected President on April 4, 2021, receiving 71 votes in the third round out of 82 MPs present, with 11 votes deemed invalid, securing her a five-year mandate.
