Nasuf Bejta was not a name with significant political weight in Kosovo until April 2021.

But in that month, the activist and professor from Vushtrri became known throughout the country and beyond.

This happened due to an important decision he made, when he agreed to become a candidate for president of the country.

Bejta knew that he could not win that position or post, but he admitted that he did it because he was an institutionalist and for the sake of Vjosa Osmani, so that she could become president.

The “loss” of 2021 did not disappoint him. He told KosovaPress that he would again enter such an adventure to run once more, not to win but to move the institutional process forward, of course, all of this resulting in Vjosa Osmani being re-elected president.

Describing her as “perfect” in exercising her duty and emphasizing that she deserves a second mandate, Bejta places the emphasis on political stability and avoiding early elections, which he says Kosovo does not have the luxury to afford with another new electoral cycle.

“Yes, with the appeal not to vote for me, only to vote for Vjosa and to move the process forward, again why not? It is not shameful to lose to a good candidate, I said it, because this is Kosovo’s victory. It is not Vjosa’s or Albin’s or mine, but it is the victory of the entire people of Kosovo, of Kosovo itself. We do not have the luxury of all these expenses, in these circumstances, in this poverty, again every four-five elections within a year. It is too much. I think it is too much and what is enough, is enough,” he declared.

Bejta says that the election of Osmani as president of Kosovo in 2021 was a fulfillment of the popular will and the creation of a “very good tandem” Kurti-Osmani, which according to him was expected by the entire population, after the February elections of that year where their coalition received just over 50 percent of the vote.

“Since I was given the chance to push forward the process of electing the president, namely the completion of Kosovo’s institutions, I took that courage willingly, despite knowing the epilogue of all this matter, but I was the happiest person on April 4 when the president of Kosovo was elected, I think a truly deserving president, a very good tandem that the entire population was waiting for, the Kurti-Osmani tandem, and with hope and feeling that they would truly be the ones who would dignifiedly lead the state. Because it was also a nationwide demand,” Bejta said.

Vjosa Osmani served five years as president of the state. During this time, she and Bejta met only once. Despite this, according to her former “presidential” rival, she did everything perfectly during this period.

“In general, I think Vjosa has been perfect. Even though I may not have had many meetings with Vjosa. One meeting right after her election as president, one meeting when I became an MP, a five-minute meeting, but I think she has been perfect. That is my personal opinion. I do not know how others think, but I think she has represented us well, I think she has worked a lot on gender equality, on the protection of institutions, protection of the law. She has carried out the duties of the president. In preserving recognitions, in seeking recognitions. I consider that she has done a very great job,” he declared.

Believing that Osmani worked well, Bejta says that the incumbent president deserves a second mandate at the head of the state.

“In my opinion, she fully deserves to run and it is very bad if she does not run. Despite everything, I think that the majority opinion in Kosovo is that Vjosa should continue her mandate. In the end, in the end, I think it is a perfect tandem, therefore it suits both Kurti and Kosovo that Vjosa be once again a candidate. If these MPs do not elect her, then the culprit must be sought as to who is manipulating, who is dragging, who is obstructing the formation of institutions,” Bejta declares.

However, Osmani’s re-election for a second mandate is not certain, at least until Tuesday, March 3. Politics is boiling these days in an effort to find a candidate for president. Prime Minister Albin Kurti has met the leaders of the two largest opposition parties on this issue, but the name of Vjosa Osmani has never emerged as a proposal. Bejta says this is incomprehensible while criticizing Kurti for not pushing forward the continuation of the current president’s mandate.

“In my opinion they are difficult and meaningless meetings. The 51.10% that Kurti’s electorate won, I think that even the opposition should have told them, as the majority, ‘Go ahead, let us just talk, let us politically agree on a candidate who would also be acceptable to the opposition’... Since we are stuck, I say, less than 72 hours until the president is elected, we must reach the election of the president. I would make an appeal from my village of birth not to go to elections under any circumstances, because it is not a solution,” Bejta declared.

With 71 votes in favor, the Assembly of Kosovo on April 4, 2021 elected Vjosa Osmani to the post of President of Kosovo with a five-year mandate.

Osmani won in the third round of voting, in which 82 MPs participated. Her counter-candidate, Bejta, did not receive the trust of any MP.

The Assembly must elect the new president by March 4, 2026 at the latest. If this does not happen, the country goes to early elections.