• MPs vote to dismiss Kurti-led government (media)
• Mustafa: It is better that the motion was voted, session showed our differences (RTK)
• These are the next steps to create the government (RTK)
• Acting PM Kurti dismisses deputy PM Avdullah Hoti (Koha)
• Haxhiu: Thaci and Mustafa brought Kurti’s government down (RTK)
• Haradinaj welcomes vote on no-confidence motion (media)
• Ruge: EU, France and Germany to be commended for their strong support of Kurti (Klan Kosova)
• Eight new cases of coronavirus confirmed (media)

MPs vote to dismiss Kurti-led government (media)

All media report that with 82 votes in favour, 32 against and one abstention, members of the Kosovo Assembly voted to dismiss the Kurti-led government on Wednesday.

The no-confidence motion was submitted by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the junior partner in the coalition following Prime Minister Kurti’s decision to dismiss Interior Minister Agim Veliu. The vote comes less than two months after the government came to power.

The head of the LDK parliamentary group, who presented the motion, argued that Kurti’s position on the import tariff on Serbia had threatened Kosovo’s relations with the United States.

Kurti said in his address to the Assembly that he is convinced that the no-confidence motion against his government is aimed at making way to what he called an existing agreement for territorial exchange between Kosovo and Serbia.

“I am more certain than ever before that there is an existing agreement. This is actually what the President confirmed to me in our meeting. I met him for two hours and he told me ‘Prime Minister remove the tariff and let us go to the White House and get rid of Serbia. The others are appointed prime ministers, and you and I are elected by the people’. So the idea is not to oust the government over the tariff, but to bring down the government in order to make way to the agreement. I will not be an associate in this,” Kurti said.

Kurti said the government cannot be brought down over a minister “unless that minister is the very plan itself”.

Kurti said “the presidential deal” involves bringing down the government.

He also said “the state of emergency cannot be declared until there is a state of emergency”.

“The engine behind this situation is how to remove the government and myself so that the deals can begin,” Kurti said.

Under the headline Coronavirus Helps Bring Down Kosovo’s Government, With Nudge From U.S., the NY Times reported on Wednesday that “Kosovo’s prime minister lost a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, partly because of disputes over how to respond to the pandemic. Critics say American diplomacy also played a role”. It also noted that “the vote was welcomed by the United States, whose diplomats have placed Mr. Kurti under heavy pressure since his government was sworn in last month because of his opposition to aspects of an American peace deal in the region”.

In a similar headline the BBC reported that the “coronavirus has helped topple Kosovo’s government”. “It is not clear how the political impasse will be resolved as elections cannot be held because of the pandemic … Doctors have warned that without clear direction, the disease could overwhelm Kosovo’s underfunded health system,” the BBC reports.

France 24 reported that the government was dismissed after a dispute over whether to declare a state of emergency to combat the coronavirus when the LDK filed a motion for a no-confidence vote after Kurti sacked LDK member Agim Veliu as interior minister. Veliu had supported calls by Kosovo’s president for a state of emergency to be declared to combat the coronavirus. Kurti said such a drastic move was not justified.

Prishtina-based Koha Ditore daily newspaper reports that President Hashim Thaci is now faced with two options, either declare early parliamentary elections or ask the Kurti-led Vetevendosje Movement, which won the elections, to announce a new candidate for forming the government.

Mustafa: It is better that the motion was voted, session showed our differences (RTK)

Isa Mustafa, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said after the government was brought down that Kosovo has reached a situation of being sanctioned by its main ally.

He said the no-confidence motion was also induced by Agim Veliu’s dismissal from the position of the Minister for Internal Affairs.

“If you followed all the discussions today, we reached a conclusion that disagreements were deep and were boiling, despite the agreement that we reached. So, it turned out we had differences. It is good that the motion was voted. It is better for a government to be interrupted in time than not to fulfill its program,” Mustafa said.

These are the next steps to create the government (RTK)

After a successful motion of no-confidence on the government, the president has two options: The first option is to start consulting political parties represented at the Assembly, similarly to a situation of certification of election results, with the intention of nominating a new PM candidate for creation of the government. In this case, Vetevendosje as the political party with most votes in the elections, should seek a new candidate. This proposal cannot be Albin Kurti again.

The second option, the President has the discretion to decide which of the political parties or coalitions from the Assembly has more chances to create the new government.

If these two options are not successful, the Assembly has to be dissolved and Kosovo has to go for new elections.

Acting PM Kurti dismisses deputy PM Avdullah Hoti (Koha)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti decided to dismiss the Deputy Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti. The decision was made late on Wednesday, after midnight, shortly after no-confidence motion which overthrew Kurti’s government was upheld.

“Mr. Avdullah Hoti is released from the position of the Principal Deputy Prime Minister,” is written in the decision distributed to media, as it announced that the decision enters into force after being signed by the Prime Minister.

Haxhiu: Thaci and Mustafa brought Kurti’s government down (RTK)

Acting Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu, appealed to the citizens through a Facebook post not to get disappointed, “as we will come back stronger and more powerful.”

“On October 6, you gave us the support to govern the country.

Since February 3, the day the Government was voted on, we have been working uninterruptedly to implement our program and commitment with honesty and dedication.

Today, the Government collapsed with the motion planned by Thaci and Mustafa.

The LDK, as in other times in the past, returned to the old embrace, returned to those who abused with the state for 20 years.

The changes we initiated for the rule of law, economic development and welfare, education and health, left us halfway, the LDK betraying the trust of the citizens.

Dear citizens, do not despair because this country will become and we will return even more powerful and stronger very soon and we will continue the good works we have begun,” Haxhiu wrote.

Haradinaj welcomes vote on no-confidence motion (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj welcomed the MPs vote to oust the Kurti-led government, all media report.

“This is proof about the functionality of the Constitution and the Assembly and that the state of Kosovo is aligned with the most sublime values of democracy. I am fully confident that the institutions of the Republic will be established soon and that there wont be a government vacuum,” Haradinaj wrote in a Facebook post.

Ruge: EU, France and Germany to be commended for their strong support of Kurti (Klan Kosova)

The news website reports that Boris Ruge, Vice Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, said the EU, France and Germany are to be commended for their strong support of Kurti.

“Those who brought down the government of #Kosovo in the midst of a pandemic will have to answer questions of responsibility & legitimacy. #EU #France & #Germany are to be commended for their strong support of PM @albinkurti. Sad to see the #US pursue a separate & dangerous agenda,” Ruge tweeted.

Eight new cases of coronavirus confirmed (media)

All news websites report that Kosovo’s National Institute of Public Health confirmed on Wednesday evening that eight new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, bringing the total number of infected persons to 71.