• LVV: Coalition talks with LDK to be finalised in two weeks’ time (media)
• Vetevendosje complains to Supreme Court over Diaspora ballots (Klan Kosova)
• The endless game of vote recount (Bota Sot)
• Haziri: No doubt, prime minister post goes to Vetevendosje (Koha)
• Veliu: LDK-LVV coalition not in danger, post of President to be defined (Telegrafi)
• Zogiani: We can’t discuss post of President two years beforehand (Indeksonline)
• Vetevendosje leader Kurti meets North Macedonia PM Zaev (media)
• Thaci: Kosovo remains champion of war against terrorism (RTK)
• A new approach to the Kosovo – Serbia dialogue (Radio Free Europe)

LVV: Coalition talks with LDK to be finalised in two weeks’ time (media)

Working teams from the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) met yesterday to discuss forming a joint government of Kosovo and according to LVV’s Glauk Konjufca the talks will be finalised within the next 10-14 days.

Konjufca said there was almost 100 percent agreement between the parties during yesterday’s meeting which focused on healthcare and education. He said the next meeting will be dealing with social policies.

Asked by reporters to comment on the statement by LDK deputy leader Lutfi Haziri that the post of prime minister will have “to go through LDK offices”, Konjufca said that after the failure of a pre-election coalition with LDK, it was generally agreed that the post of prime minister will be directly chosen by the people. “It is now clear also based on results that the nominee for prime minister will belong to the party that has won the most votes,” Konjufca is quoted in Zeri.

Vetevendosje complains to Supreme Court over Diaspora ballots (Klan Kosova)

Vetevendosje has addressed the Supreme Court once again over Diaspora ballots saying thata members of the Elections Complaint and Appeals Panel (ECAP) have ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court instructing the CEC to count 4,639 ballots that arrived from members of Kosovo Diaspora.

Vetevendosje claims there are 1,806 ballots from Diaspora which are not being processed. “It is unprecedented for the decisions of the Supreme Court to be ignored in synchronised manner be it by the CEC or ECAP. Their actions starting on 12 October are actively contributing to the delay of certification of final results in an attempt to deny voters outside Kosovo to right to election,” Vetevendosje said.

The endless game of vote recount (Bota Sot)

The paper reports that the certification of 6 October election results may take more time than anticipated and according to the Central Election Commission (CEC) they cannot announce the results without all outstanding issues being addressed by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP).

CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi however said that announcing final results does not mean the electoral process has been concluded as political parties and candidates are still entitled to file complaints.

At the same time, Vetevendosje’s representative to the CEC Adnan Rrustemi said it was unacceptable for all the ballots from Diaspora not to be counted as per the ruling of the Supreme Court. Rrustemi said the CEC has yet to count more than 1,800 ballots of the total of 4,639.

Haziri: No doubt, prime minister post goes to Vetevendosje (Koha)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri said in an interview with KTV that the election results have put Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti as the most voted candidate and “for us it is clear: the party that has more votes has the prime minister.”

Haziri said his statement that the post of prime minister will have to go through the LDK offices was not meant as a provocation but was part of the political discourse. “If we had been the first party, the name of LDK prime minister would also go through the offices of Vetevendosje,” he said.

Haziri also spoke about coalition negotiations with Vetevendosje and pointed out that the post of Kosovo president will be addressed. “We have said the government will have 12 ministries, the post of speaker, president are topics that will be discussed in other meetings. We agreed to discuss the post of president but this will be done internally.”

Veliu: LDK-LVV coalition not in danger, post of president to be defined (Telegrafi)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Agim Veliu told RTV Dukagjini that there is no significant danger to the chances of a coalition being reached with Vetevendosje. “The teams are working. They are sticking to the programme agenda. These will then move to political talks where the coalition will be build,” he said.

Veliu however noted that some issues need to be defined prior to coalition agreement. “It is good to define things so as to avoid a needless crisis in 2021,” Veliu said in reference to the time when the mandate of current Kosovo President Hashin Thaci is set to expire. “The Democratic League has many consensual figures for president but that of Isa Mustafa is the most prominent in this respect.”

Zogiani: We can’t discuss post of President two years beforehand (Indeksonline)

Vetevendosje member Avni Zogiani, in a debate on T7 on Monday evening, commented on recent reports that the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has asked from the Vetevendosje Movement to include the post of President in their ongoing negotiations to form a coalition government.

“There is nothing official. It is all media speculation,” Zogiani said. “We hope we will enough votes that when the time comes, we can dismiss the President … We cannot discuss about this post two years beforehand. With the LDK we have agreed on many issues, including the economy, judiciary and healthcare.”

Vetevendosje leader Kurti meets North Macedonia PM Zaev (media)

Leader of Vetevendosje Albin Kurti met yesterday in Skopje Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev. In a Facebook post, Kurti said the two discussed “political situation in our two countries, possibilities of mutual coordination, relations between countries in the Balkans, and European integration issues.”

Thaci: Kosovo remains champion of war against terrorism (RTK)

Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci spoke about the assessment of Kosovo by the U.S. Department of State with regards to the war against terrorism. “A deserved assessment, because Kosovo is for years now proving also in practice its war against terrorism, fundamentalism and any kind of extremism that appears in Kosovo, the region or further from the region, anywhere in the world, together with international partners,” he said.

Thaci emphasized that Kosovo has proven its abilities, and its women and men have made tremendous and historic contributions to peace and stability in Kosovo, but also in the region.

“The U.S. assessment of Kosovo as a champion in the war against terrorism in the region, is an additional responsibility for the institutions, our citizens, future generations,” Thaci said.

A new approach to the Kosovo – Serbia dialogue (Radio Free Europe)

The news website quotes political commentators in Pristina as saying that the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia must happen through mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Ramush Tahiri, political commentator, told RFE that normalisation cannot be achieved through “nationalistic parameters and policies that have led to wars in the Balkans”. “The United States of America and the European Union have a key role in the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The European Union has a criteria and condition for Serbia’s membership, and this includes Kosovo too. The U.S., as a superpower, is interested in peace and stability in the Balkans, this includes the project of Kosovo as a sovereign and independent country,” he said.

Imer Mushkolaj, political analyst, suggests the U.S. and EU need to adopt a different approach to the process of dialogue. “The implementation in practice of an eventual deal between Kosovo and Serbia must have guarantees from the U.S,” he said. Mushkolaj also said Pristina is frustrated with EU’s approach toward Kosovo and Serbia’s diplomatic war against Kosovo’s independence.