The Chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, addressed the delegates at the party’s 11th General Convention, emphasizing that the event was a call to continue the path of unity and strength—one that saw the party overcome challenges like the departure of Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli to The Hague, to become winners of the 2021 local elections, and securing around 200,000 votes in the February 9 elections with Bedri Hamza as their candidate for prime minister.
Krasniqi, the sole candidate for the party’s chairmanship, said:
“This mandate ends, but the work does not. PDK is growing, and growth requires stability. We are preparing for victory, and victory requires unity. That’s why I ask for your support to continue as your Chairman—not for the position, but for the mission. Not for myself, but for the path we must take together.”
He cited future goals: winning local elections, leading the next government, economic recovery, strengthening the state, and reestablishing Kosovo as a serious international partner.
Krasniqi also highlighted the party’s progress:
Integration into European and global liberal-democratic networks
Hosting the “50/50 Convention” to empower women in decision-making
Strengthening the Democratic Youth of Kosovo, now led by MP Arbnora
He emphasized PDK’s constructive role in Parliament, opposing laws harmful to the public through the Constitutional Court and breaking the dominance of one-party rule in the February 9 elections.
“Our cause is Kosovo. Our cause is development. Our cause is the future. And we will build it—together,” said Krasniqi.
Regarding the upcoming October 12 local elections, he stated that PDK aims not just to retain current municipalities but to expand its victories, naming several mayors as “champions of good governance” across the country.
PDK Deputy Chairman Bedri Hamza also addressed the Convention:
“PDK was not born in offices—it was born through struggle and with the spirit of resistance. We are the party of Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli. They never bowed, never broke.”
Hamza said that PDK’s February 9 performance proved the party had reconnected with the people:
“PDK is not an alternative—it is a necessity.”
