For at least the next two days, there will be no action taken toward the appointment of a new mandate holder, a responsibility that lies with President Vjosa Osmani.
The President has arrived in Saudi Arabia to participate in the “Future Investment Initiative” forum, which began on Monday and will conclude on Wednesday.
Osmani has ten days to hold consultations with political parties regarding the appointment of a new mandate holder after Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti failed to secure enough votes in Parliament on Sunday to form a new government.
Earlier today, LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku met with Fatmir Limaj, head of the Social Democratic Initiative (Nisma). However, after the meeting, neither confirmed whether the discussion involved a potential coalition.
“If we wanted you to know, we would’ve invited you inside the meeting,” Abdixhiku told reporters when asked if the meeting was about new elections or the upcoming local election runoffs.
Meanwhile, Vetëvendosje MP Mimoza Kusari-Lila left open the possibility that Kurti might once again attempt to form the government.
“I believe the only change could be that if there is willingness from certain MPs to vote for the government and the mandate holder — in this case, Prime Minister Albin Kurti — then he could guarantee he has 61 votes, and another session could be convened within the constitutional deadline,” she said.
However, civil society representatives do not expect this process to produce a new government.
“Even though there’s room to act procedurally to form a new government, we believe the best way to unblock this situation is to hold early elections — to renew the legitimacy of representation both in Parliament and in the formation of a new government,” said Vullnet Bugaqku, a researcher at KDI.
Potential early elections would mark the third electoral process within a year, not counting the upcoming local election runoffs set to take place in two weeks.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has stated that organizing new elections would be a challenge.
“Organizing a new electoral process in such a short period certainly presents a challenge for the CEC and its staff, especially since we are still actively managing the local elections. But as always, the CEC will act in accordance with its legal mandate and will take all necessary actions if early elections are decided,” said CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi.
On Sunday, Prime Minister-designate Albin Kurti failed to secure the required 61 votes to form the government.
Following the session, all political blocs stated they are not willing to propose a new mandate holder and expressed readiness to head toward early elections.
