The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Glauk Konjufca, said that a president from the Jashari family would create an automatic consensus in society. However, Konjufca did not indicate whether there is willingness from the Jashari family to take on the presidency, reports KosovaPress.
Earlier, speaking on behalf of the parliamentary majority in the Assembly, the top diplomat said that they have not yet proposed a candidate for president because they do not want to “corner” the opposition, but rather aim to find a consensus.
“What would automatically generate a positive expectation, an automatic consensus in our society, is a president from the Jashari family… I cannot speak on this matter. You need to go there and get an answer,” he said after a press conference with his Albanian counterpart, Elisa Spiropali.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti also visited the Jashari family a few days ago but did not indicate whether he discussed the presidency with Rifat Jashari.
The election of Kosovo’s president must take place no later than March 4.
Earlier during the press conference with Spiropali, Konjufca said that the majority in the Assembly has only 66 deputies, so they have not wanted to impose a candidate on the opposition when asked whether they support Vjosa Osmani for a second term as head of state.
For the presidential election, 80 deputies are needed in the first two rounds, while in the third round the president can be elected with 61 deputies, but 80 deputies must participate in the voting process.
“The majority, which has 66 members in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, believes that it is not possible through a single, unilateral candidate to reach 80 votes without also securing the opposition’s support. This is the conclusion of the majority. I am not saying it is absolute, because there are no absolutes in politics. But roughly, this is the conclusion of the majority. Maybe we are right, maybe we are wrong, but this is the conclusion. Therefore, the conclusion is that through a unilateral candidate, we do not want to corner the opposition,” he said.
Konjufca said they have chosen the path of dialogue, mentioning meetings between Kurti and the leaders of PDK, Bedri Hamza, and LDK, Lumir Abdixhiku.
“This is good news for Kosovo. It shows a new maturity in both the political scene and our institutions because it is a sincere and constructive effort to sit together and understand each other’s goals. Misunderstandings often arise when we do not communicate clearly. So, when party leaders—both opposition and majority in the Assembly—sit together and discuss the process for hours, this is good news for Kosovo,” he added.
At the same time, Konjufca denied that he is an option for the presidency.
“Am I an option? No. I think this has not been discussed or raised in this context. If the majority had intended to propose a Vetëvendosje candidate for president, that would be exactly what I mentioned earlier—we want to avoid this. That would place the opposition in a position where they are forced to act. That is not the goal of the majority this time. Therefore, we acted differently,” Konjufca concluded.
Only seven days remain before the constitutional deadline for electing the President of Kosovo.
