Kosovo parties strike deal to elect president, breaking deadlock

The party of ​Kosovo's caretaker prime minister, Albin Kurti, ‌Vetevendosje (VV) ​and the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) agreed on Monday to back the election of a new president, a move that ‌could break nearly two years of political deadlock.

The proposed candidate, Bekim Sejdiu, 51, is a law professor at the University of Pristina. He previously served as Kosovo's ambassador to Turkey and as ‌consul general in New York. Kurti, whose party won the June 7 snap election, needs ‌only a handful of votes from smaller minority parties to form a government. However, he lacks the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to elect a president.

Kosovo, one of Europe's poorest countries, aims to join the European Union. Brussels ⁠has ​repeatedly said the country ⁠needs stable institutions capable of delivering reforms required for membership. Political instability has delayed reforms and slowed access to EU ⁠funding. Together with several minority parties, the two parties can secure more than the 80 votes required ​to elect a president, a post that is largely ceremonial. Vetevendosje won 53 seats ⁠in the 120-member parliament, while the LDK came third with 18.

"We hope and believe that the Republic of ⁠Kosovo, ​as it has so often done in the past, will once again find a way to move forward and confront the major challenges that await us," Sejdiu told a ⁠news conference after the agreement was reached. Failure to elect a new president triggered the June ⁠snap election, the country's ⁠third national vote in less than 18 months.

It remains unclear when lawmakers will convene to elect a parliamentary speaker, approve a new government ‌and vote ‌on the presidency.