The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MP, Arben Gashi, said that Speaker of Parliament Dimal Basha is an authentic representative of the Vetëvendosje Movement. He made these comments about the Speaker, who was elected on Tuesday, when asked whether he should resign after reports about a research paper that mentioned the KLA.

Before the start of the constitutive session, where the draw for the election of the deputy speaker from the Serb community was expected to continue, Gashi said that “this is a narrative being directed at Dimal by his own party.”

“This is a narrative being directed at Dimal by his own party, which does not want the authenticity of Vetëvendosje to be revealed. I think Dimali is the authentic representative of Vetëvendosje, and such is Vetëvendosje itself. I think people should see this, and together as a society, we should understand that this is the way of political thinking in Kosovo and what our perspective is,” he declared.

Gashi said that he would not vote for either Rashiq or Simiq, since, as he put it, there is no difference between them.

“You should ask Hykmete since she is the head of the group and makes decisions... But if you think I would vote for a Serb representative—neither for Rashiq nor for the other one. There’s no difference between them,” he added.

The LDK MP, Arben Gashi, also said that the country is at risk.

“I think the country is at risk. I think the situation is extremely bad. The scenario that happened in Afghanistan is repeating itself, where the state collapsed because of the inability, time and again, over several months, to constitute its own institutions. The country is in danger. This irresponsible behavior must end—what is needed is leadership and a mentality that takes responsibility for the country,” Gashi concluded.

On Tuesday, the process of drawing lots began to elect the deputy speaker from the Serb community. The vote was interrupted after MP Nenad Rashiq, chairman of the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, failed to secure the necessary votes.