#KOSOVO: Left Easily Wins Parliamentary Elections

[world politics news]

As expected, the Left-leaning Self-Determination Movement Party (LVV) has easily won Parliamentary elections in Kosovo, taking around 48% of the vote in Sunday’s snap poll, according to the election commission.

The party's triumph nearly doubled its last electoral showing in 2019, while Kosovo’s two traditional parties suffered historic lows. 

Sunday’s election saw the outgoing centrist Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) — a party of former rebels—drop down to 13 and 17 per cent respectively.

Polling before the election had shown the LVV well ahead of the LDK.

The October 2019 parliamentary elections saw opposition Self-Determination Movement Party emerge as the largest faction in parliament, finishing just ahead of the Democratic League of Kosovo. 

The snap election was made necessary after the nation's Constitutional Court ruled that the parliamentary vote electing a new government in June, 2020 was unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Court ruled December 21 that the election of the government of Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti was illegal because one member of parliament who voted for the government had previously served time in prison. 

That member had been the 61st vote for Hoti, and 61 votes in the 120-member body is necessary to form a government, throwing the country's electoral system into chaos.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KOSOVO: Top Court Delays Parliamentary Vote For New Prime Minister

[world politics news]

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has suspended a parliamentary vote on a new prime minister until May 29, dashing President Hashim Thaci’s hopes for a quick resolution to a political crisis.

Kosovo’s top court made the decision on May 1 amid a national holiday and just a day before parliament was to vote on Thaci’s new choice to lead the government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KOSOVO: Prime Minister Ousted By No Confidence Vote

[world politics news]

The Parliament of Kosovo has voted to oust Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government. The no-confidence vote initiated by Kurti’s coalition partner Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) gained 82 votes in the 120-seat parliament today. 32 MPs voted against and one abstained.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SERBIA: Pres. Vucic Claims Failure Of Kosovo To Gain Entry Into INTERPOL As A "Victory"

[world politics news]

Serbian Pres. Aleksandar Vučić says the rejection of Kosovo's INTERPOL membership application this month was a success of Serbia, “a small, defiant and proud country." He says he hopes the defeat leads Kosovo to return to negotiations on a compromise, ending years of animosity between the two regions.

After two rounds of voting, 68 member countries voted in favor of admitting Kosovo, 51 were against and 16 abstained, so that the former Serbian province failed to get the required two-thirds support of the member states. Kosovo broke away from Serbia in 1999, precipitating a civil war. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia but Serbs don't recognize it, nor do five EU member states: Spain, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, and Slovakia.

Pictured: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, foreground, and Foreign Ministar Ivica Dačić 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KOSOVO: Snap Election Held Today After Gov't Loses "Confidence" Motion In Parliament

[world politics news]

Voters in Kosovo have begun casting their ballots in a snap parliamentary election overshadowed by concerns over the economy and tensions with neighboring Serbia. Sunday's poll takes place a year early following the collapse of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's cabinet last month, which ended Kosovo's first grand coalition.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KOSOVO: Oppo. Parties Hope To Gain Enough Votes For No Confidence Motion Against PM Mustafa

[world politics news]

Kosovo's opposition parties are urging members of parliament to back their new motion to overthrow Isa Mustafa's government in their latest attempt to oust the ruling coalition. Initiated by the opposition Initiative for Kosovo, Nisma, Kosovo opposition parties are trying to attract MPs from all parties to support a new no-confidence motion in Isa Mustafa's coalition government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SERBIA: Vast Majority In New Poll Wouldn't Support Military Effort To Reclaim Kosovo

[world politics news]

A new survey shows that 74% of Serbs wouldn't go to war to reclaim Kosovo as a Serbian province if it was proposed. Three-quarters of those polled support the EU-facilitated negotiations to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Only eight percent oppose it.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KOSOVO: Parliament Debates Prison Death Of Activist For Six Hours

[world politics news]

Kosovo MPs spent more than five hours debating the mysterious death in prison of the opposition activist Astrit Dehari while demonstrators rallied outside the parliament. MPs from the ruling coalition of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, had earlier refused to discuss the matter on the grounds that they were awaiting the official forensic report. Both parties backed a motion stating that if the family required extra expertise from the EU or the US, the authorities would pay for it.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KOSOVO: Autopsy Of Opposition Activist: Committed Suicide In Prison

[world politics news]

An autopsy on the body of a Kosovo opposition activist who died in prison found that he committed suicide, authorities in the Balkan nation said, after his death drew protesters onto the streets. Medical student Astrit Dehari, 26, died in jail earlier this month in the southeastern city of Prizren, where he had been detained since August along with five fellow members of the opposition Self-Determination Party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KOSOVO: EU Will Hold Up Kosovo Visa Deal Until Montenegro Border Normalization

[world politics news]

Unless Kosovo approves a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro, it can’t enjoy EU visa liberalization, says an EU official. Opposition lawmakers, who are against the deal, have disrupted parliamentary work by using tear gas canisters, blowing whistles and throwing water bottles. Street rallies by opposition supporters routinely turn into violent clashes with police. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn says its political polarization is negatively affecting its integration path into the 28-nation bloc.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KOSOVO: Even After Renewal Deadline Passes, EU In Kosovo Approved For 2 More Years

[world politics news]

The EU has approved an extension to the mandate of the EU's rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, which expired last Tuesday at midnight. Federica Mogherini, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued the approval in her reply to a letter from Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. This paves the way for the Kosovo assembly to vote two draft laws, approved by the government Friday, which enable the EU mission to continue in the country.

#KOSOVO: 1000s Riot Against Gov't Deal Establishing Self-Gov't For Serbs Remaining After '99 War

[world politics news]

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets in Kosovo's capital this weekend, with police firing tear gas as some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and set fire to a building. Protesters oppose deals reached by the government with Serbia - the country from which Kosovo seceded in 2008, Protesters urged the government to resign over a deal to set up an association of Serb-run municipalities for Kosovo's Serb minority.

#KOSOVO: EU Leaders Condemn Illegal Arrest of Opposition Leader, 13 Oppo. MP's

[world politics news]

Kosovo’s authorities have arrested the main opposition leader,Albin Kurti, the founder and most charismatic figure of the largest opposition party, and another nine of the opposition’s 31 MPs. Five of them, including Kurti, are now in pre-trial detention, for an initial one-month term, and the other five are under house arrest. The arrests are illegal, because under Kosovo’s constitution, MPs cannot be arrested without parliament’s consent.

#KOSOVO: Oppo. Leader Directs Riots In Streets Opposing Minority Rights For Ethnic Serbs

[world politics news]

Police are seeking to  arrest the nation's opposition party leader after he led rioting in the capitol, Pristina. Albin Kurti has used pepper spray in parliament and was sought after being seen leading the protests against granting ethic Serbs more autonomy in this majority Albanian nation, which broke away from Serbia in 1999.

#KOSOVO: Parliament Debates Special Courts To Deal With KLA War Crimes During 1999 War With Serbia

[world politics news]

Kosovo's national assembly is debating a constitutional amendment to set up a special court to deal with war crimes committed by the KLA during Kosovo's war for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s. The debate took place in a nearly empty hall, after Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and then Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci left. Most LDP members of the assembly also left the sitting, Thaci strongly supports the amendment.

#KOSOVO: Serb PM And EU Condemn Albanian PM's Call for "Unification" With Kosovo

[world politics news]

Ghosts of the Balkans' violent past were resurrected when Albania's Prime Minister said Kosovo - the former Serb region now independent and aligned with Albania - would face "unification" with Albania either through both becoming EU members or "the classical way." His statement was condemned strongly by EU officials and Serbia's president.

#KOSOVO

Ethnic Related Violence Mars Local Elections [world politics news]

SERBIA: Mutual Recognition Deal with Kosovo Approved Ahead of EU Membership Bid [world politics news]

Serbia's Parliament Friday overwhelmingly approved a deal normalizing relations with neighboring Kosovo that paves the way for both nations to seek European Union membership. The deal specifies that neither nation will hinder the others' quest for EU membership. Kosovo broke away from Serbia in 1999 after a violent, NATO-sponsored war.

SERBIA: Pro-Western President Resigns, Calls for New Elections

KOSOVO: Defiant Serbs Hold Referendum on Kosovo Rule