Kosovo: Kurti, Hamza Fail to Agree as Oct. 6 Deadline Nears
Prime Minister Kurti met Abdixhiku and Hamza separately, but there is no deal. The PDK offers all 22 votes only after the Specialist Chambers amendments pass both readings.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met separately on Saturday, October 3, with the leaders of the two largest opposition parties, Lumir Abdixhiku of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and Bedri Hamza of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), but no agreement on electing a president was reached. The deadline expires Tuesday, October 6, and as of Sunday noon no Assembly session on the presidential vote had been scheduled.
According to agencies and media reports, Kurti met Abdixhiku first, then Hamza. The meeting with the LDK leader was confirmed by party spokesman Besian Mustafa, while Abdixhiku himself made no statements afterward, so details are unknown. Sources differ on the venue: KoSSev reports that the talks were held in the Assembly in Pristina, while Danas, citing Beta, writes that Hamza arrived at the Government of Kosovo after Abdixhiku.
As we reported earlier, the Kurti-Hamza meeting on Friday, October 2, ended without a deal after two hours. Saturday’s round, now with a third interlocutor, changed nothing.
Why does Hamza want the law before the president?
The PDK position has not moved. Ahead of Saturday’s meeting, Hamza repeated his condition to reporters:
“First the law has to be adopted, and I repeat, adopted at all levels, in both readings and in all committees.”
After Friday’s talks he said the same thing more briefly: “The priority is the amendments to the Law on the Specialist Court. Adopt the law, then we talk about the president.” The PDK has said that once the law is adopted, it would make all 22 of its lawmakers available for the presidential vote.
According to Gazeta Express, relayed by KoSSev and citing sources close to the negotiations, Kurti offered a different sequence: the law in first reading, then the presidential election, then the second reading. Hamza did not accept. The same outlet reports that the PDK does not insist that the candidate come from its ranks. The other side has not independently confirmed these claims.
What does the PDK proposal say?
The initiative to amend Law No. 05/L-053 on the Specialist Chambers came after September 16, when the chambers in The Hague convicted former KLA leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi at first instance and sentenced them to a combined 81 years in prison for war crimes. The PDK proposal:
- limits the mandate of the Specialist Chambers to the crimes covered in the Dick Marty report
- introduces international monitoring of the court’s work
- provides for the four convicted men to be tried in Kosovo
- narrows the temporal jurisdiction from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2000 down to July 1, 1999 to December 31, 2000
On Friday evening, in an electronic session, the government in Pristina found that there are no legal obstacles to the initiative and forwarded its decision to the Assembly, in response to a request the Assembly sent on September 23. According to KoSSev, the Ministry of Justice assessed that the proposal requires additional specialist review in the Assembly, particularly regarding its compatibility with the Constitution and international obligations.
What happens if the deadline expires?
The Constitutional Court determined that the 60-day deadline for electing a president began running on August 8 and expires on October 6. If no president is elected, the Assembly is dissolved and snap elections must be held within 45 days. According to RTV, that would be the fourth election in less than two years. The six-month term of acting president Albulena Haxhiu, Danas writes, expires on October 4.
Pressure is also coming from the street. The “Not in My Name” protest was held on Saturday for the 18th evening in a row, with participants marching from Skanderbeg Square to the Assembly and reading out the names of all 110 lawmakers. Organizer Haziri said the law must not become part of political bargaining:
“Our national identity is on the table of this Assembly today. The blood of our martyrs and of the KLA is on the table of this Assembly today. We came today to tell them: vote for the law.”
He added: “Kosovo will not have a president elected alongside the KLA.” An organization of former KLA members, according to RTV, announced a protest outside the Assembly on Monday and warned of escalating actions if no agreement on the law is reached.
According to RTV, after Saturday’s meeting Hamza said there are still a few days left to reach a deal, but that he does not know whether one will come.
