Kosovo’s president has named former guerrilla commander Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister-designate and given him the mandate to form a new government, apparently ending a monthslong political crisis in the Balkan country.
A coalition headed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has agreed to a deal with the junior New Alliance for Kosovo party to form a government, ending three months of political gridlock sparked by inconclusive elections.
The Embassies of the United Kingdom and the United States, came up today with a joint statement on the recent appointments by the Judicial Council of Kosovo.
"The Embassies of the United Kingdom and United States take note of the recent appointments by the Kosovo Judicial Council of the Head of Appeals Court and the Head of the Supreme Court, following the annulment of the previous appointments process by the Constitutional Court.
The Russian Embassy in Serbia has confirmed the arrest of six of its nationals by authorities in Kosovo. “A representative of the Russian office in Pristina has been dealing with this issue as soon as the Russian citizens were detained. He immediately went to the scene”, said Russian Embassy’s spokesperson, Yuri Pichugin. The Russian nationals were arrested yesterday along with five Serb nationals for illegal entry into Kosovo.
Ardian Arifaj, advisor to Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, said the date for the constitutive session of Kosovo Assembly has not been set yet. "Decision on when to hold constitutive session has not been taken yet. We will inform you whenever the decision is taken", Arifaj said.
Economy and European integration experts in Kosovo view the recent Western Balkans in Trieste, Italy as one of the most important events of the year for the region that aspires to join the EU. However, some believe that the idea to set up a Western Balkans economic union would be unfavourable for Kosovo.
President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, said in an interview to Radio Free Europe in Albanian that he has received assurances from the winning coalition, PAN, and the nominee for prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, that the new government of Kosovo will be formed without delays. “The issue of mandate is not a matter of preference but of respect for citizens’ legitimacy”, Thaci said. “Kosovo has a winning coalition that came out of 11 June elections.
It has become a disturbing pattern in Serbia of late: those looking to improve relations with neighboring Kosovo can expect to encounter mayhem-minded ultranationalist youths hell-bent on foiling their efforts.
Valdete Daka, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said in an interview for Radio Free Europe that all election votes have been counted except for conditional ones and those from the Diaspora.
She said the final results would be announced after review and verification of all election material and of complaints filed with the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel. This, according to Daka, could take up to three weeks.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says Kosovo's snap parliamentary elections were held in an "orderly" manner and took place "without major irregularities or incidents."