US Association, Elections, US Amateurs Possible for Early Elections

Avoiding international pressure for the adoption of the Association statute of Serb majority municipalities, but also the fear of the outcome of the US presidential elections are two reasons why the Government of Kosovo supports the idea of early parliamentary elections, says Arton Demhay from the non-governmental organisation “Hirje”, with headquarters in Pristina.

“If the ruling party does not agree to go to the polls, it would prevent any possible option to bring the country to the elections”, he tells Radio Free Europe.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said in an interview for REL on March 19th that for his party “is equal to”.

I have no problem with any option... If the opposition wants early elections, the Parliament” must be dissolved, he said, but has not mentioned any reason why early elections would be needed just months before the end of the ruling mandate.

Kurti has repeated this even in an interview for Kosovo Radio Television, where he has said that his party, the Vetevendosje Movement, could help the opposition achieve the necessary votes.

The opposition, on the other hand, has long called for early elections because, as it considers, the government's continued failures, either in the internal plan or in foreign policy. However, it has no consensus on how to go to early elections.

The current government's four-year mandate expires next March.

Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Blerta Deliu-Codra tells Radio Free Europe that her party supports the idea that in early elections it will be taken through the distribution of the Assembly.

We haven't figured it out yet, as leader of The PDK, if it wants to break up the Assembly or motion of no confidence [to the government]. But, the one that unites us is the fact that the country must go to the polls and new civic legitimacy” should be required, Deliu-Kodra says for Radio Free Europe.

Democratic League of Kosovo Chairman Lutfi Haziri says this party has not changed its stance to go to early elections, the government must resign.

According to him, Kurti's statement that the ruling party will help the opposition achieve the numbers for the distribution of the Parliament is the political “kurth, to cover failures”.

If [the Kurt] reads his failures directly, let him resign”, he says.

Haziri acknowledges that even among opposition parties, there is a “when there is a large” and says there can be no agreement on how to get to the elections.

There is no co-operation between the opposition. We're away with agendas, differences are huge. As are differences with the majority party, so are the differences in substance even between the opposition”, Haziri says.

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo MP Time Kadrijaj says this party will no longer insist on the idea of a no-confidence motion against the government.

Why did Mr. Kurti, when we filed a motion, not offer this at other times without causing damage to the country? Why didn't he cooperate with the opposition? Now we're looking for Mr. Kurt to resign”, says Kadrijaj for Radio Free Europe.

Her party leader, Ramush Haradinaj, has come up with the idea of no confidence in the government since last summer, but it has not moved forward.

Currently, the ruling Vetevendosje Movement has 56 deputies in the 120-seat Assembly, while the three opposition parties have 42. Two are independent, while others belong to smaller parties or minority communities.

Mimoza Kusari-Lila, chairman of the Vetevendosje Movement Parliamentary Group, said at a media conference that to eventually set a date for early elections and the way to go into that process, political parties should be committed to political dialogue.

While the opposition political groupings do not have this, it seems a little unserious to ask for votes of power to dismantle the Parliament or support the no-confidence motion”, Kusari-Lila said.

The key to political developments, Demhaje, says that “problemisation” of the issue of how the country can be sent to early elections is the political “” of the ruling party and opposition.

According to him, Vetevendosje Movement is appropriate for early elections to be taken through the political parties' agreement to distribute the Assembly.

If the government resigned, Demhaja says, a large portion of the public would consider the move to be Kurti's surrender before international pressure to implement the Association Agreement.

Demhasaj believes that, with one or the other option, the country will go to elections as far away as September of this year.

The fact that Vetevendosje has a majority in the Parliament and without its votes is impossible to distribute the Parliament or dismiss the Government, most likely Vetevendosje option [for the distribution of the Convention by consensus] is more likely to”, Demhaja says.

But, according to him, the possibility of the Vetevendosje Movement failing to resist international pressure for the start of procedures for forming the Association of Serb majority municipalities cannot be ruled out.

“... and Government can resign and take the country to elections in the spring, because the pressure is too big. All options are possible”, he says.

The issue of forming association has dragged on for years, even though there has been an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia since 2013.

Late last year, the international community has presented the parties with a draft for the statute that this association would have.

The parties, initially, have said they accept it in principle, but have not taken a step forward.

In the interview given REL on March 19th, Kurti said he did not accept this draft.

According to him, he would have to go into the package with the Base Agreement for normalisation of relations with Serbia, which Serbia has said has refused to sign.

Demhasaj says the current power in Kosovo would aim to secure a new mandate even before the US presidential elections, to be held in November.

The current president, Joe Biden, and former President Donad Trump are expected to participate in the race.

When the confrontation was the same in 2020, Kurti has called on Albanians in the United States to vote for Biden. That's what Demhaya remembers.

“In the case of the last elections, [the representatives of Vetevendosje Movement] publicly appeared and supported the Democratic Party [of Biden] and opposed the Republican Party [of Trump]. I think they're afraid there may be consequences for them”, he says.

Under Trumpin, Kosovo and Serbia have reached an agreement on normalising economic relations in 2020, but many of its points have remained only on paper.

In February last year, Serbia has honoured the former American envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Richard Green, appointed by Trump, for, as it has said, “balanced access to Serbia”

In recent weeks, some Biden administration officials have voiced concern over the shake-up of US-Kosovo reports, due to Kurt's refusal to suspend a regulation banning the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo.