• Konjufca’s nomination for President furthers clashes between govt, opposition and Osmani (RFE)
• Haxhiu: Two candidates for president needed to schedule assembly session (Klan)
• President’s Office ready to send to Assembly constitutional amendments for president’s election by the people (KTV)
• Haziri: Looking forward to Osmani’s position about the whole situation (Express)
• Osmani’s advisor denies creation of a new political list “Hope” (Telegrafi)
• AARC calls on Kosovo parties and leaders “to act with urgency and statesmanship” (Express)
• Thaci trial verdict will decide legacy of Kosovo Specialist Chambers (BIRN)
• OSCE Head of Mission meets Pristina University Rector (Kallxo)
• Petkovic meets EU reps to discuss Kosovo laws on vehicles and foreigners (Kosovo Online)

Konjufca’s nomination for President furthers clashes between govt, opposition and Osmani (RFE)

On the eve of the deadline for the election of the Kosovo President – March 5 at midnight – the ruling Vetevendosje Movement proposed Glauk Konjufca, currently Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, for president. Another candidate is needed for the post in order for the Assembly to schedule a session on the election of the president. Vetevendosje called on opposition parties on Wednesday to propose their candidate on Thursday, offering them the necessary signatures of its MPs – 30 – in order for the process to move forward.

Vetevendosje expects the session on the president to be held within the deadline, and said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti will be engaged in efforts to find a solution. “Prime Minister Kurti's engagement to find a solution will continue, and after that I am very optimistic and expect, and I call on all MPs not to lead the country to elections once again. So, this is not a matter of conditioning, but of civic responsibility,” Vetevendosje parliamentary group chief, Arberie Nagavci said on Wednesday.

Nagavci also said that Vetevendosje had offered to support current President Vjosa Osmani’s candidacy in addition to proposing Konjufca, but Osmani’s office denied the claims and called them a lie. 

Opposition parties meanwhile accused Kurti and his party of not seeking consensus for the election of the president and for sending Kosovo to a new political crisis and the possibility of new parliamentary elections. 

Haxhiu: Two candidates for president needed to schedule assembly session (Klan)

Kosovo Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu told a press conference on Wednesday that only one candidate for Kosovo President was nominated, and called on MPs to submit signatures for another candidate, in order to meet the condition for scheduling the session for the election of the president. 

Haxhiu said that the constitutional deadline to schedule the session is March 5 and highlighted the urgency of the situation. “There may be requests for an extraordinary session, but there cannot be a session to elect a president without at least two candidates. The election of president must take place no later than 30 days before the end of the current president’s mandate. The constitutional deadline is March 5, 2026, so we have less than 30 days until the end of this deadline, which makes the situation more urgent. I invite all deputies who have not yet signed to reflect and consider the possibility of proposing at least one other candidate,” Haxhiu said. 

President’s Office ready to send to Assembly constitutional amendments for president’s election by the people (KTV)

Chief of Staff for Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Learta Hollaj, said on Wednesday that they are ready to send for a vote to the Kosovo Assembly the constitutional amendments that foresee the election of the president by the people. “To enter this race, President Osmani enters to be reelected, and if we talk about a race, then we should return to where the real race is, to the people of the Republic of Kosovo. We still have time. There are 24 hours left and we are ready to first thing next morning to submit the amendments to the Constitutional Court and to return to the people. We will measure our forces there and then we will understand what the response is,” she said in an interview with KTV. 

Haziri: Looking forward to Osmani’s position about the whole situation (Express)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri said in an interview with T7 on Wednesday that he is looking forward to seeing what Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani’s position be on developments surrounding the election of the president. “The constitutional deadline ends tomorrow at midnight, and the Republic of Kosovo will remain without a president. This is called a failure by the institutions to elect a president. I am looking forward to seeing what will be Vjosa Osmani’s position about this political situation. I believe she will have a position,” he said.

Haziri also said that the position of the LDK about Konjufca’s proposal for Kosovo President will be “crystallized” on Thursday.

Osmani’s advisor denies creation of a new political list “Hope” (Telegrafi)

Some news websites reported on Wednesday that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani was preparing a new political list called “Hope” with which she could run in the next elections, potentially in a coalition with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK). The reports were however denied by Osmani’s advisor, Meliza Haradinaj. She said the information was not true and called on media to stop spreading misinformation.

AARC calls on Kosovo parties and leaders “to act with urgency and statesmanship” (Express)

The Albanian American Relations Council said in a statement on Wednesday that it was deeply concerned over the continuing institutional crisis in Kosovo, which has now persisted for more than a year. It said that “the inability of political parties to place the country’s national interests above narrow party agendas and personal rivalries has prolonged political paralysis at a time when Kosovo should be strengthening its democratic institutions and international standing”.

The Council said that Kosovo has achieved significant progress since independence through sacrifice, determination, and strong partnerships with the United States and the democratic world. That progress should not be jeopardized by political brinkmanship or the weakening of state institutions.

“In today’s increasingly uncertain global environment, Kosovo must demonstrate that it is a strong, responsible, and reliable partner to its allies. Political leaders have a duty to ensure the effective functioning of democratic institutions and to prioritize the national interest above partisan considerations. The Albanian American Relations Council calls on all political parties and leaders in Kosovo to act with urgency and statesmanship to end the current stalemate and restore the stability and functionality that the citizens of Kosovo deserve,” the statement concludes.

Thaci trial verdict will decide legacy of Kosovo Specialist Chambers (BIRN)

The three days of February 16, 17 and 18, 2026 were a confluence of interrelated events of historical significance for the United States, Kosovo, and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which is in the final process of establishing its legacy.

On February 16, the US celebrated George Washington’s birthday, the annual holiday commemorating America’s first president who served exactly 250 years ago at the founding of our democracy in 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

This followed the bloody war for independence fought by insurgent citizens-turned-soldiers and led by Washington against the tyrannical British Empire.

On Tuesday, February 17, Kosovo celebrated its 18th Independence Day, honouring the fight for freedom by the Kosovo Liberation Army’s citizens-turned-soldiers from the shackles of Serbian oppression during a horrific war perpetrated by the forces of Slobodan Milosevic.

During the 1998-99 war, there were upwards of 10,000 Albanian deaths, greatly outnumbering Serbian casualties, and as many as one million displaced Albanians – men, women and children – forced to flee their homes and country as a result of Milosevic’s policy of ethnic cleansing.

But four of Kosovo’s war heroes, Hashim Thaci – dubbed “Kosovo’s George Washington” by former US president Joe Biden – Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakob Krasniqi, were unable to attend the commemoration. They have been languishing in detention since November 2020, at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, KSC, in The Hague, standing trial for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Read more at: https://shorter.me/JWBdH

OSCE Head of Mission meets Pristina University Rector (Kallxo)

OSCE Head of Mission in Kosovo, Gerard McGurk, met with the Rector of the University of Prishtina, Arben Hajrullahu, on Tuesday. “I met Universiteti i Prishtinës Rector Arben Hajrullahu today to follow up on Balkanistics study programme and its sustainability. We also touched on inclusive higher education and ensuring that access to education as a human right remains protected for all communities,” McGurk said in a post on X.

Petkovic meets EU reps to discuss Kosovo laws on vehicles and foreigners (Kosovo Online)

Head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, held a meeting in Brussels with representatives of EU member states and European institutions, during which he pointed to the consequences of the possible implementation of the Law on Vehicles and the Law on Foreigners, as well as the necessity of preserving Serbian institutions in Kosovo – healthcare, education and the University. He stressed that any shutdown or questioning of the functioning or existence of Serbian institutions in Kosovo is absolutely unacceptable.

Following the meeting, Petkovic stated that the discussion focused on the situation in Kosovo, particularly in light of decisions and announcements from Pristina that, as he said, it would begin implementing a highly harmful law starting on March 15. “This was an opportunity to convey to the participants, representatives of member states and ambassadors here in Brussels, the situation on the ground, to point out all the consequences of the implementation of these extremely harmful and dangerous so-called laws, and to emphasize the necessity of preserving Serbian institutions in Kosovo, primarily healthcare, education and our university,” Petkovic said.