Kosovo’s President of the Assembly, Kadri Veseli, appealed to the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, to call the parties in order to find a solution for the political crisis. “Jahjaga will not be in a bad position after the end of her mandate, she will gain many benefits. It is necessary to find a political solution to overcome these challenges and to orient the country towards economic development.
The Assembly of Kosovo faces a dilemma as to whether to begin the first spring session with the election of the new president of Kosovo. Sources within the Assembly mention the 11 February as a possible date for the election of the President. Another possibility that was mentioned is to start with a normal working session to learn more about the opposition's approach. However, there has been no official confirmation of this news.
Kosovo Assembly MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Vjosa Osmani, known as one of the criticizing voices against the PDK-LDK coalition, confirmed once again that she will object Hashim Thaqi’s candidacy for the President of Kosovo. “I am not aware of how the other deputies will act, but it is important for each of us to act according to our convictions and conscience, and in line with the will of the electorate,” Osmani said.
On the eve of elections of the new President of Kosovo the idea has surfaced that a Serb could put him or herself forward for the position. Although it is hard to believe that he or she could would be able to get two thirds of the votes in the Kosovo Parliament, it would allow for Serbian MPs to avoid the pressures of having to choose which Albanian candidate to support.
Despite the fact that Kosovo is not a member of the Council of Europe, the delegation of the Assembly of Kosovo will participate in future Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) activity, with the right to speak but not to vote.
The Austrian daily Österreich, published an article, which says that the current Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, will be elected President of Kosovo next week. According to the daily, Thaci has majority support of the population of Kosovo, being that the 48 year old had led Kosovo towards its independence.
“For the benefit of your country and population, I ask the opposition to avoid violence and engage in a constructive manner on the debate within the Assembly of Kosovo,” was the message of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood policy, Johannes Hahn, to the Kosovo MPs from the coalition government and opposition parties, members of the Committee for European integration, that he met on Tuesday in Brussels.
Vice-President of the European Parliament Urlike Lunacek, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn, have offered to help on relaxing the relations between the opposition parties and the government of Kosovo.
Assembly of Kosovo has prolonged its winter holiday more than usual, after a season when tear gas by the opposition parties was thrown almost at every session.
Assembly Presidency gathered last week however they did not set the date for the next session. They said the date will be set at the next meeting of the Presidency which is to commence on 6 or 7 February.
The parliament’s presidency has extended MPs’ New Year holidays February after the opposition threatened to disrupt any assembly sessions, demanding snap elections.