Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has stated that the noise and criticism directed at the Vetëvendosje Movement are not harming the party he leads, but rather the state itself.

Speaking again about the issue of the presidency, Kurti said that if the country goes to elections, Kosovo would lose tens of millions of euros.

He made these remarks after the inauguration of transformations in the Cardiology Clinic at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (QKUK).

“If we go to new elections, they cost at least 10 million euros. If we go to new elections because the Assembly will not function, we will lose tens of millions of euros as a state. If we go to new elections, we will not have a solution because we will again have to go to elections… I do not know how we can have 80 deputies; it is essential that we reach an agreement. I have been very generous with the opposition parties… After the ruling, I met with the LDK, while the PDK refused to meet. I made two offers to the LDK, one for a coalition government and another for a rotation in the leadership of the Assembly. I also offered the PDK a rotation in the Assembly leadership, but they simply do not seem ready or interested in an agreement, and this is a great damage for the state of Kosovo,” Kurti said.

According to him, the “noise and shouting” of the opposition are not harming the Vetëvendosje Movement, but rather the state and the state budget.

“The main topic, dear journalists, a year ago was how Albulena Haxhiu should not become Speaker of the Assembly, because she is confrontational, divisive, and so dangerous that she would irreversibly damage the functioning of institutions and democratic state-building in Kosovo. You had lynched and stigmatized Albulena Haxhiu, the most voted woman of the ninth legislature. Where are we today, one year later? Albulena Haxhiu is Speaker of the Assembly. Albulena Haxhiu is also acting President. And Albulena Haxhiu is neither confrontational nor divisive. Therefore, all this noise and shouting you hear with unjustified complaints against the Vetëvendosje Movement are not harming us, because we are still reaching our goals. They are harming the state, wasting both budget and time,” he said.

Kurti also said that he offered the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) twice as much as he offered the Guxo party.

According to him, when someone says Vetëvendosje should not have the presidency, they are essentially saying that Glauk Konjufca should not have it.

“Just think about it: the majority has 66 deputies. I offered a party with 15 deputies that their deputy leader would become my deputy, meaning that in my absence he would lead government meetings. And four ministries. So I offered the LDK twice as much as I offered the Guxo party. The Guxo party ran together with me; the party that ran against me I offered twice as much. Four ministries. And it was rejected. They said Vetëvendosje should not hold all three top positions, but here we are without the Speaker of the Assembly. No, Vetëvendosje should not have the president either. But show me a better person than Glauk Konjufca, who has over 318,000 votes. When someone says Vetëvendosje is not acceptable, they are saying Glauk is not acceptable. You all know that the opposition has a better opinion of Glauk than of me. Why don’t they vote for Glauk? Or if they don’t vote for Glauk, why have they never proposed a candidate themselves?” he stated.

The head of government also said that opposition parties do not even have the signatures required to propose a presidential candidate. He suggested that the opposition should choose a candidate outside the political scene and move forward.

“I know they do not even have the numbers to apply, because to apply with a presidential candidate you need 30 signatures. The LDK has 15 MPs, meaning only half the required signatures, let alone to win. Meanwhile, the PDK has 22 MPs, so it does not even meet the requirement to apply. But if they joined together, they would have a candidate. Let them use the same criteria they use against us: a candidate outside the current political scene, and let’s move forward. But beyond that, what else can we do? We must govern. The election result cannot be changed,” he said.

Only six days remain until the deadline set by the Constitutional Court for the election of the president, and no political agreement has yet been reached. Opposition parties have already stated that they will no longer meet with Prime Minister Albin Kurti regarding the presidency issue.