The Kosovo Assembly has elected Ardian Gola of Vetëvendosje as deputy speaker with 101 votes in favor, as the session was subsequently disrupted by a dispute over the candidacy of PDK nominee Vlora Çitaku.
Gola secured the required support in the first vote, becoming the first deputy-speaker candidate to be elected during the latest voting process.
The Assembly then proceeded to vote on Çitaku, who was nominated by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).
Çitaku received 44 votes in favor, 56 abstentions and one vote against, falling short of the required majority.
Following the result, the Assembly leadership invited PDK to propose another candidate for deputy speaker.
In protest, PDK MPs left the Assembly chamber.
Speaker Albulena Haxhiu called on the PDK lawmakers to return to the session, reminding them that the same candidate can be put to a vote up to three times.
The dispute comes amid continued disagreements among Kosovo’s parliamentary parties over the procedure for electing deputy speakers. Earlier in the session, MPs voted 71–10, with one abstention, to approve individual voting rather than voting on the candidates as a package.
The Assembly is continuing efforts to complete the election of its deputy speakers and finalize the constitution of its leadership.
