President dissolves Parliament

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani on Friday said she was dissolving Parliament to pave the way for an early election after lawmakers failed to elect her successor.  The development marks a new crisis in the Balkan country that already went through a snap vote in December after a nearly yearlong political deadlock. Kosovo’s assembly had a deadline of midnight Thursday to elect a new president to replace Osmani, who took office in 2021. A vote late on Thursday failed due to a lack of a quorum in the 120-member assembly.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti has blamed the failure on the opposition’s boycott of the session. His ruling Ventevedosje, or Self-Determination, party has asked the Constitutional Court to temporarily suspend the deadline for the process to resume.