Kosovo Forms New Cabinet but Faces President Election Crisis

Kosovo's parliament finally gave the green light to a new government led by acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti after three months of total political gridlock. This move ends the paralysis but immediately sets up a fierce battle over who will become president. Parliamentary Speaker Albulena Haxhiu confirmed on Sunday that 62 lawmakers voted for this cabinet out of the country's full 120-seat assembly.

The situation remains fragile because Kurti's Vetevendosje party cannot elect a president without opposition support. If they fail to pick a head of state, Kosovo faces another snap election, which would be the fourth one held in just two years. No date has been set for that crucial vote yet. Although Kurti's party won three legislative elections since February 2025, including polls in December and June, it still lacks the votes to install the largely symbolic president.

Trouble started brewing when Kurti struck a deal in late August with the Democratic League of Kosovo, which holds 18 seats. They agreed to back law professor Bekim Sejdiu for the top job. But the next day six LDK lawmakers declared they would not follow their leader's decision on this matter. This deepening domestic deadlock mirrors Kurti's hardline stance toward neighboring Serbia, a strategy that has hurt his reputation both at home and abroad.

Opposition groups keep blaming Kurti for pushing away Kosovo's traditional Western allies through unilateral actions in the Serb-dominated north. The United States and the European Union had already told him to calm tensions after deadly clashes between police and armed Serbian paramilitaries erupted earlier this year. These diplomatic frictions have caused real economic damage as well. Months of government paralysis have stalled legislative reforms needed for EU integration, putting Kosovo's access to pre-accession funds at serious risk.