Home World Live World Kosovo President schedules parliamentary elections for February 9, a crucial examination for the prime minister

Kosovo President schedules parliamentary elections for February 9, a crucial examination for the prime minister

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Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, has announced on her Facebook page that the country will hold new parliamentary elections on February 9. The upcoming elections are crucial for Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his party, Vetevendosje!, who secured a landslide victory in 2021. The decision on the election date was made after consultations with various political parties, including Kurti’s governing party.

Recently, Prime Minister Kurti has been involved in controversial issues, such as calling for the full reopening of a bridge in Mitrovica, a city divided between ethnic Serbs in the north and ethnic Albanians in the south. This move has raised concerns among Western powers about potential tensions escalating with the Serb minority in the area. Additionally, Kurti’s decision to close six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank in northern Kosovo has also led to disagreements with Western nations.

The upcoming elections in February will play a significant role in determining Kosovo’s stance in the normalization talks with Serbia, overseen by the European Union, which have stalled in progress. Kosovo, formerly a Serbian province, declared independence in 2008 following a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 that ended the conflict between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists.

Notably, several former Kosovo leaders, including ex-President Hashim Thaci, are currently facing war crimes charges in a court backed by the European Union in The Hague, Netherlands. In response to heightened tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, NATO-led peacekeepers known as KFOR have increased their presence along the border to prevent further escalations.