Should parties present a name for president before the June elections?

And, this instability could deepen in the absence of clear candidates for the presidential post, and of the secularity of political parties to make concessions.

Despite not being elected directly by citizens, could the appointment of a new president be facilitated if parties present a candidate before the June 7th snap elections?

Which parties have submitted candidates for president?

Only the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has indicated that hosting its election list, Vjosa Osmani, under a pre-election co-operation, will be its candidate for president.

Osmani wants a second term at the head of the state, following its failure to re-channel in April.

Other major parties, such as the ruling Vetevendosje (LVV) Movement and the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), have not submitted candidates.

While the parties are not obliged to present any candidate for president before the election, they would have to pledge at least the characteristics of candidate profile for president, or for principles which would lead to the achievement of a political consensus, says Agon Maliqi, the expert on political issues in Kosovo.

The “should accurately clarify the circumstances in which they would agree to a president, and what characteristics he should have in order to avoid the elections again. Based on this pledge, then accountability can be sought after the elections”, Maliqi says of Radon Free Europe (REL).

In practice, this would mean more political transparency before the elections and less improvise after them.

Why does the LDK, and other parties not?

Neither the incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti's ruling party nor the PDK answered REL questions if they would let any of their own candidates know about Kosovo's future president.

Maliqi believes that the LDK has submitted the candidate because of former president Osmani's “specific circumstances”, while other parties are not doing it because they have a clear candidate, nor do they feel the rush to do it now.

“I think that the LDK has done it, probably, because of the belief that the formation of its victimisation by Kurti can stir emotions of a kind of voter who in December has voted for LVV because of the Kurti-Osman binom, and not just for Kurtin”, Maliqi explains.

Even if there were candidacys now, according to Maliqi, they could appear <x0 quality>”.

He argues that especially when it comes to the president if not for other positions, there will be a need for concessions among parties.

Because the president's election in Kosovo is rarely the process chosen by the election result it usually requires political agreement, compromise and concessions among parties.

Here lies the main problem: parties are entering the elections without any minimum agreement for the post that can define the country's institutional stability for years to come.

A Process That Requires Compromise

Kosovo has suffered from lack of compromises among parties in recent years, and the president's election at this time seems not so easy.

The country lost the entire year 2025 as a result of the pre-founding of the Parliament first and then the Government, in the absence of consensus, and elections are being held again in a short time because of disagreements about the president, without any guarantees of what will happen next.

The LVV, in power since 2021, is again seen as a favourite to win elections, but it is not designed to take 80 seats in the 120-sosh Assembly.

For the Kosovo president's vote to be valid, the presence of 2/3 of all MPs in the Assembly is needed.

Ehat Miftaraj, from the Kosovo Institute for Justice, tells Radio Free Europe that Kosovo is missing a genuine political debate between the position and opposition for strategic state topics, including the president's issue.

“in this respect, the election of the president in Kosovo should be seen as the process requiring political communication, democratic compromise, and transparency towards the public, rather than as the issue addressed through the list of wishes or obligation”, Miftaraj points out.

For all institutional crises within a year and a half, the ruling and opposition parties have blamed each other.

In the end, the future president may not be determined by the names the parties declare before the elections, but by their readiness to compromise when facing parliamentary reality after June 7th.

Until the president's election, the post will continue to exercise Albulen Haxhiu, whose six-month task lasts farther until October. /Periscope