Two opposition parties in Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, rejected the possibility of forming a coalition with the Vetëvendosje Movement, which won the February 9 parliamentary elections.
Bedri Hamza, who was PDK's candidate for prime minister, said that this party will not enter any coalition that includes Prime Minister Albin Kurti's party.
"We have big differences," Hamza said at a press conference in Pristina on Monday.
"They [Vetëvendosje] want absolute power and have no program. During the campaign, they avoided confrontation even in television debates. They offended political opponents and citizens. They incited hatred, while we called for unity and cooperation," Hamza added.
With over 95 percent of votes counted, the Central Election Commission announced that the Vetëvendosje Movement leads with around 41 percent, PDK with around 22%, LDK with around 17% and AAK-Nisma with around 7%.
But, to have a majority in the Assembly, a party needs at least 61 deputies out of the 120 this institution has in total.
Earlier, AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj ruled out the possibility of a coalition with the Vetevendosje Movement, saying that he prefers the creation of a government by opposition parties.
"We would have gladly cooperated with the Albanian opposition political entities to create the majority that is realistically possible," said Haradinaj, AAK's candidate for prime minister, at a press conference.
"It is my honor to help an opposition government - certainly not with Vetëvendosje," he emphasized.
The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, wrote on Facebook that the LDK is waiting for the full vote count before coming up with its political stances.
"At this stage, we continue with the counting of the remaining votes, especially those in exile. After the final count, the LDK will offer its political positions," said Abdixhiku.
He did not comment on Haradinaj's call for an opposition government. Similarly, PDK officials who spoke to REL said they had not commented on his idea within the party.
Addressing supporters the night before, Kurti, who has served as prime minister since 2021, said his party would govern for the next four years, but without giving details about how or in alliance with whom.
Despite its victory in the February 9 elections, Vetëvendosje suffered a loss of support of almost 10%, compared to the 2021 elections.
Rrahman Paçarizi, professor at the Department of Journalism at the University of Pristina, says that Kurti is not very interested in forming the new government.
"Kurti was interested in preserving the result he had, but with more than 100,000 votes lost, it is unlikely that he will be able to form a government. I think that even the opposition does not have the unity to form a government," Paçarizi tells Radio Free Europe.
He adds that the country, "unfortunately, may go to early elections, through some constitutional and legal acrobatics, delaying the constitution of the Assembly to the maximum, after the certification of the results."
The February 9 elections in Kosovo were the first regular elections since the declaration of independence in 2008.
Citizen participation in them was just over 40 percent.
The European Union welcomed the organization of the elections in, as it said, a peaceful atmosphere./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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