Incumbent Prime Minister Hashim Thaci’s party came first in the elections, but opposition parties vow coalition to leave him in minority and out of office.
TIRANA, June 9 – Tirana on Monday praised Kosovo for holding successful parliamentary elections considering it an “important step” to Kosovo’s progress and stability of the region.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that the vote was crucial to the future of Kosovo’s “Euro-Atlantic integration” and “sustainable stability.”
“The (Foreign Affairs) Ministry evaluates the maturity testified in this election process from Kosovo’s citizens and the political elite,” said the statement.
Kosovo people voted on Sunday in early elections after the dissolution of the assembly.
Results showed government leader Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won most votes while seeking his third term. He is still unable to create a cabinet on his own.
But opposition parties may likely offer a coalition and create the new government as they have the required number of votes in the 120-seat new parliament. That comes if Thaci fails to create a cabinet. Three parties agreed to work together to have Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister.
Sunday’s polls are a major step toward the normalization of relations between Kosovo’s Albanian majority and Serbs in the north, who agreed to participate in the Kosovo elections for the first time after Pristina’s unilateral independence from Serbia in 2008.
“The Foreign Affairs Ministry is convinced that this important step adds the marked success from Kosovo and is a guarantee in coping with the challenges waiting there in fulfilling strategic aspirations, for Kosovo’s and the region’s continuity toward the full Euro-Atlantic integration and a sustainable stability,” said the statement from Tirana.
