Candidate for prime minister from PAN coalition and leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, said in a press conference today that the new government of Kosovo will be formed in record time and that he has sent a letter to Vetevendosje and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) asking for a meeting to discuss possibilities for forming the new government.
LDK-AKR-Alternativa candidate for prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, called on political parties in Kosovo to respect constitutional timeframes regarding the formation of the new government. He said Kosovo cannot afford to waste a single day without institutions in place. Hoti however said that they are not ready to cooperate with PAN coalition led by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). "We are not ready to cooperate with them and technically, it would be imposible for PAN coalition to form a government", Hoti said.
Head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Valdete Daka, said that the recount of a number of ballot boxes has affected the final election results enabling three candidates to gain seats in the new legislature. The new MPs will be Fikrim Damka instead of Mahir Yagcilar from the Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo (KDTP), Slavko Simic instead of Branimir Stojanovic from the Serbian List, and Naser Osmani instead of Imet Rrahmani from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
Vetevendosje’s Rexhep Selimi in an interview to the news website said that his party is the biggest parliamentary entity and that they are ready to form a new government. “It is now evident. The Vetevendosje Movement is the biggest parliamentary party. It has a number of MPs that gives it advantage over every other political party. We are ready to assume the mandate for our candidate for Prime Minister and to form a new government.
EU Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, said yesterday at the European Parliament that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade should resume and that Kosovo needs to continue reforms in the field of rule of law, economic development and education.
Hahn said elections in Kosovo were peaceful and that this was a sign of democratic maturity of the people. He also said Kosovo should keep up the pace with the rest of the Western Balkans and encourage economic growth and political stability.
The OSCE organised a conference on the state of online media in Kosovo where panelists identified misleading news and hate speech as being the main challenges, Kosovapress reported.
Xhevahire Izmaku, chair of the assembly commission on media, said there are hundreds of online media in Kosovo whose ownership and funding are unknown. She also said that hate speech and misleading news are some of the challenges facing the online media.
Reports that Vetevendosje is expected to enter a coalition with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) were dispelled today by Vetevendosje MP Rexhep Selimi who said that these were merely speculations. “No one will drag Vetevendosje into political deals. If we wanted to enter into those kind of combinations we would have done so before,” Selimi said going on to confirm that Vetevendosje would run alone in June elections as “the only hope and the only solution.”
Former head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, William Walker, said at the 17th anniversary of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) that the only reason he comes to Kosovo every so often is because he wants to see it move in the direction everyone expects it to. Walker said however that in this particular visit, he is working on a new project: “bringing Albanians together.” “Albanians in the world came together in the 90s on the sole goal, liberation of Kosovo.
Kosovo opposition parties officially filed the request for motion of no confidence against the government. Representatives of the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA), Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Vetevendosje submitted to the Assembly this morning the no-confidence motion containing signatures of 42 MPs, including several from the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). The Assembly presidency is now obliged to call a special session of the Assembly within five but the no-confidence vote needs to receive the approval of 61 MPs to pass.
Kosovo Security Force Ministry presented a strategy today aimed at increasing participation of non-majority communities. KSF Minister, Haki Demolli, said on the occasion that their goal is to have a multiethnic force and that at present KSF has an 8 percent community representation. The strategy, he added, is supported by international partners, including the U.S., and will be implemented in three stages.