On March 5, 2026, President Vjosa Osmani submitted four constitutional amendments to the Assembly of Kosovo aimed at changing the procedure for electing the President, which were not voted on due to a lack of quorum.
The amendments sought to replace the parliamentary election of the President with a system in which the President would be directly elected by citizens with voting rights.
They also stipulated that the term of the current President, elected under previous constitutional provisions, would continue until a new President is elected and sworn in.
Additionally, the amendments proposed that presidential elections be announced by the Speaker of the Assembly no later than six months before the end of the current presidential term.
Details of the four proposed amendments:
- Amendment 1 – Article 65 (Powers of the Assembly):
Osmani proposed changing paragraph 7 of Article 65. The current text reads: “The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (7) elects and may dismiss the President of the Republic of Kosovo in accordance with this Constitution.” The proposed amendment would revise it to: “The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (7) submits to the Constitutional Court a petition for the dismissal of the President of the Republic of Kosovo, in accordance with Article 91 of the Constitution.” - Amendment 2 – Article 82 (Dissolution of the Assembly):
The amendment proposed removing the last clause that reads: “If within sixty (60) days from the start of the election procedure the President of the Republic of Kosovo is not elected…” - Amendment 3 – Article 86 (Election of the President):
The amendment proposed replacing Article 86 with a new article:- The President of the Republic of Kosovo shall be elected directly by citizens with voting rights.
- Presidential elections shall be announced by the Speaker of the Assembly, no later than six months before the end of the current term.
- If a candidate receives an absolute majority (over 50%) in the first round, they are elected President. If no candidate achieves this, a second round is held between the two candidates with the most votes from the first round, within 30 days. The candidate winning the majority in the second round is elected President.
- Amendment 4 – New Article 163 (Announcement of First Direct Presidential Elections):
This amendment clarified that:- The term of the current President continues until the new President is elected and sworn in.
- Presidents who served prior to the entry into force of these amendments may run for election or re-election once more as President.
During a press conference on March 6, Osmani emphasized that these amendments were not intended to affect her current term and would only apply to the presidential election five years from now.
“Even if the amendments had been approved yesterday, they would not have changed the election of my successor, because the procedure for direct election is designed to start six months before the end of the current term,” Osmani explained.
The amendments require approval by two-thirds of all Assembly members, including two-thirds of deputies from non-majority communities. On March 5, 93 deputies were present, while all nine deputies from the Serb List were absent.
