• Kurti: No agreement without dialogue and no dialogue with maps (media)
• LDK wants 7 ministries, president and speaker posts (Zeri)
• LVV insists on leaders’ meeting, LDK says after certification of results (Kosovapress)
• AKR ready to abandon NISMA and join government (Zeri)
• Pacolli: I don’t believe I will be part of LVV-LDK government (RTK)
• Svarqa: Vetevendosje benefited from disappointment with PDK (media)
• Haradinaj slams Rama on Mini-Schengen initiative (Gazeta Express/Zeri)
• Haradinaj: Kosovo ready for agreement with Serbia on existing borders (Epoka)
• Mandate of specialist chambers is not limited in time (Koha)
• Shpend Maxhuni will continue his career in the police force (Koha)
• The luxuries of Haradinaj’s advisors (Koha)
• Daka: CEC is being unjustly accused for delays on election process (Epoka)

Kurti: No agreement without dialogue and no dialogue with maps (media)

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti met yesterday Jean-Marie Guéhenno, fellow with Brookings Institute programme on foreign affairs and member of the UN Secretary General High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation.

According to a statement issued by Vetevendosje after the meeting, Guéhenno congratulated Kurti on election results and was interested to hear about negotiations for the forming of the new government, priorities of the new government and the dialogue with Serbia which he said he would support as part of the approach that the new government will take on the issue.

Kurti on his part is said to have informed Guéhenno that around 80 percent of the governing programme has been harmonised with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and that the division of posts is something that will be decided on very soon. He said the priority of the government will be creating new jobs and fight against organised crime and high-level corruption. On the issue of dialogue with Serbia, Kurti pointed out that there can be no agreement without dialogue and no dialogue with maps and presidents on either sides of the table.

LDK wants 7 ministries, president and speaker posts (Zeri)

The paper reports on the front page that the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) demands to Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) for joining the new government include 7 ministries as well as the post of president of Kosovo and Assembly Speaker.

Earlier, LDK deputy leader Vjosa Osmani stated that the post of prime minister is equivalent to four ministries while LVV has made it clear it will not accept conditions. Haki Abazi from Vetevendosje said the post of prime minister is not part of coalition negotiations. “This post has been determined by the citizens and our agreement prior to elections was that the party or candidate that wins more votes will get the post of prime minister,” he said.

Political analyst Rasim Alija told the paper that LDK is trying to gain leverage in demanding more ministries and added that these demands gain more weight as the chances for the NISMA-AKR-PD coalition entering the Assembly increase.  “If the public is being told that the agreement with LVV is 90% complete, and at the same time there is the demand for four ministries in exchange for the post of prime minister, we are no longer dealing with an agreement but with new conditions,” he said.

LVV insists on leaders’ meeting, LDK says after certification of results (Kosovapress)

The news agency reports that despite readiness from both parties for a coalition government, it has been two weeks since the last meeting between the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Both these political entities do not consider this two-weeks vacuum represents a stalemate; however they have different opinions on the deadlines of reaching a coalition agreement.

LVV considers that the meeting between the leaders of the two political parties should happen as soon as possible, while LDK members consider that the meeting should take place by the middle of next week, or after certification of election results, as according to them, there cannot be division of posts without knowing the exact number of MPs that each political party will have.

LVV leadership member Albulena Haxhiu told Kosovapress that certification of results should not be an obstacle for their meetings and appeals on LDK to resume with the meetings of the leaders with the same intensity as the ones of the working groups.

AKR ready to abandon NISMA and join government (Zeri)

It is still very uncertain if the coalition between the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA), New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) and the Justice Party (PD) will win enough votes to make it to the Assembly of Kosovo as currently it has only 25 votes above the required threshold, the paper reports.

NISMA officials commented on reports that AKR could be considering leaving the coalition and joining the new government saying that the party is free to do as it pleases. “It is AKR’s decision but what I can say is that we did not discuss either at the leadership level or party organs what our future steps will be,” said Albulena Balaj from NISMA.

AKR’s general secretary Vesel Makolli meanwhile rejected the statement by his fellow party official Islam Pacolli that NISMA has damaged AKR. “When we entered the coalition with NISMA we thought it was for the better. I don’t think NISMA damaged us. We ran together and did so willingly,” Makolli said. He added however that if it is in the interest of Kosovo, AKR will join the new government. “We did not ‘marry’ anyone. We are on a joint journey but at the end of the day if someone thinks it is better to go alone or if there is something in the interest of the country, we will do it.”

Pacolli: I don’t believe I will be part of LVV-LDK government (RTK)

Leader of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) Behgjet Pacolli said on Wednesday that he did not believe his party would join a government led by the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

“I never had bad relations with any party leader, and I respect Mr. Kurti. However, as far as political cooperation is concerned, I am not sure it will happen. I believe LDK and Vetevendosje have enough numbers and partners to govern. The way I see it, AKR and NISMA will remain in the opposition,” Pacolli said.

Svarqa: Vetevendosje benefited from disappointment with PDK (media)

Muharrem Svarqa, member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) chairmanship and former mayor of Ferizaj, said on Wednesday that there is no risk of the coalition between the Vetevendosje Movement and the LDK not happening, several news websites report. “This was the decision of the electorate and we have no reason to have any doubts about this issue,” he said.

Commenting on the results of the October parliamentary elections, Svarqa said their polls did not predict the votes of the Albanian diaspora when they placed the LDK as the leading party. “It is possible that the LDK has lost the ties it once had with the diaspora,” he said.

Svarqa also argued that the high level of disappointment among the people with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) brought Vetevendosje their victory in the elections. “The votes of those that were not pleased with the PDK went to the Vetevendosje and secured them the victory,” he added.

Haradinaj slams Rama on Mini-Schengen initiative (Gazeta Express/Zeri)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj has slammed the statements of Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama that Kosovo has excluded itself by not joining discussions on the Mini-Schengen initiative.

Haradinaj said Rama cannot tell Kosovo what to do. “Who is Prime Minister Rama to tell Kosovo what is happening with Kosovo? He should tell how he held elections with only one party if he is so wise and knows all the affairs of the region and Kosovo,” Haradinaj said adding that Rama should draw a lesson from Kosovo “where all parties ran in elections and no one disputed the results.”

Haradinaj once again rejected Rama’s statement that in the Berlin summit, Haradinaj was offered visa liberalisation in exchange for lifting the tax on Serbian imports. “That does not stand, it is all nonsense.”

Haradinaj: Kosovo ready for agreement with Serbia on existing borders (Epoka)

Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj met on Wednesday with Senior Advisor at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and a member of the UN Secretary General High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation, Jean Marie Guehenno. They discussed resumption of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Haradinaj said Kosovo is ready for a comprehensive, legally binding agreement with Serbia that would result with mutual recognition in the existing borders.

Mandate of specialist chambers is not limited in time (Koha)

The paper reports on page two that the mandate of the specialist chambers will not have to be reconfirmed after June 2020. With the growing number of summons for persons who are suspected of committing war crimes, there are also voices calling for the review of the mandate of the specialist chambers, which will mark their fifth anniversary next year.

Angela Griep, a spokeswoman for the specialist chambers, told the paper on Wednesday that they will continue implementing their mandate until Kosovo is notified by the Council of the European Union that investigations and every other procedure by the chambers has been completed.

Legal commentators in Pristina too argue that the constitutional and legal basis for the formation of the special court does not require its mandate to be reconfirmed after June next year.

Shpend Maxhuni will continue his career in the police force (Koha)

The paper reports in one of its front-page stories that Shpend Maxhuni, who recently resigned his post as Director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI) has expressed interest to return to the Kosovo Police where he served in senior positions before taking up the leading position at AKI.

Kosovo Police confirmed to the paper on Wednesday that they received a request from Maxhuni to return to the force but did not say what will be their decision. The paper also learns that Maxhuni’s return to the police force is only a matter of procedure and that it will be done soon.

The luxuries of Haradinaj’s advisors (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that “many of the members of the Office of outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj” indulged in luxuries using taxpayers’ money. Without including salaries, the expenses of members of Haradinaj’s office in one year reached almost €1 million. Avni Arifi, one of Haradinaj’s advisors spent over €50,000, €11,000 out of which he included as per diems. Gani Demaj, another member of Haradinaj’s office, spent over €20,000, and the Office of the Prime Minister did not reveal the destination of the funds.

Daka: CEC is being unjustly accused for delays on election process (Epoka)

Central Election Commission (CEC) President Valdete Daka said on Wednesday that accusations against this institution for delays in the 6 October elections are unjust. She argued that the CEC is not delaying the process, but only implementing the decision of the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) for a vote recount. Daka said the political parties asked for a vote recount and added that the October elections were well-organised. “We are not delaying this process. We are doing our job. So, we are recounting as requested,” she said.