By Daniel Serwer, @DanielSerwer ,
Washington, 03 September 2026, dtt-net.com / peacefare.net – Its parliamentary system has Kosovo in a bind. The tiny Republic has held three elections in the past two years. The same party, “Self-Determination,” (VV) has won all three. But they have been unable to get past the constitutional requirements to elect the parliamentary officers and now the president. That needs a two-thirds in parliament that VV has not been able to muster. In the meanwhile, VV continues govern in caretaker status.
This is bad internationally
It’s not a good look. Kosovo is supposed to be preparing for NATO and eventually EU membership. It can hardly expect to go far in those directions if its state institutions are not able to perform their even fundamental functions. Electing a president is arguably the minimum the parliament should be able to do.
Four members of NATO and five of the EU do not recognize Kosovo, which Serbia and Russia have blocked from UN membership. None of the skeptics are going to change their minds unless Kosovo demonstrates that it can make its own democracy work.
It’s not a good look at home either
It doesn’t look any better on the domestic front either. The current Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, doesn’t seem to mind governing as a caretaker. He has stretched the limits of that role. But his results in the last election (June 2026), when VV declined to back to 43% from 53% (December 2025) will have given him pause.
To his credit, he has at last proposed a highly qualified candidate for the presidency from one of the opposition parties, LDK. Lawyer Bekim Sedjiu has worked as a university professor, diplomat, and Constitutional Court judge. But six of that parties deputies oppose the candidate. That has put the situation back in limbo.
The six-month mandate of the current Acting President expires October 4. What happens after that is not clear. It is uncharted territory.
This has put the monkey on the opposition’s back. If no one steps up from one of the other opposition parties to fulfill the quorum requirements, the electorate may well blame the opposition, not the prime minister, for taking the country to a fourth election in just two years. VV can then hope to benefit and boost its percentage back up, though that is not guaranteed.
What is to be done?
Another election may not be the worst outcome. I’d give that title to continuation of the caretaker status of the current government. But it would be better if someone in the opposition could find their way to allowing the presidential vote to proceed. Kurti has done what the the opposition parties asked. It is high time to get on with the serious business of governing, which includes an important role for the opposition. It’s time to fish and cut bait.
Daniel Serwer is a Professor of the Practice of Conflict Management as well as director of the Conflict Management and American Foreign Policy Programs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
This opinion was published first at his peacefare.net website.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of dtt-net.com.
