Pristina [Kosovo], March 6 : Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani on Friday said she was dissolving Parliament to pave the way for an early election after lawmakers failed to elect her successor.
The development comes after the country's parliament failed to elect a new president to replace Osmani, who assumed office in 2021. In December last year the Balkan country held snap elections after a nearly yearlong political deadlock.
Kosovo's assembly had a deadline of midnight Thursday to elect a new president to replace Osmani, who took office in 2021.
A vote failed due to a lack of a quorum in the 120-member assembly yesterday.
According to Politico, the country's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has blamed the failure on the opposition's boycott of the session.
Kurti and his ruling Vetëvendosje party put forward their own presidential candidate, Kosovo's Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca, instead of agreeing on a consensus name for the post with the opposition.
The prime minister supported her in the last presidential election in 2021 but chose not to do so this time.
Osmani said the situation was completely avoidable and lawmakers had enough time to choose a president.
"Naturally, citizens did not want elections. This situation was created by the failure of the Assembly to fulfill its constitutional duty," Osmani said as cited by Politico.