Ramush Haradinaj, the prime ministerial candidate of the coalition that won the June 11 early general elections, has sent letters to the other two main formations in the new parliament, asking for a meeting to discuss possibilities for forming a new government, RTK broadcaster reported on July 10. He added he also plans to talk with the Serbian List and non-Serb communities.

Haradinaj is likely to find it difficult to form a new government as the election result was inconclusive, with none of the three biggest players winning enough votes to form a government alone. Representatives of both runner up Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) and the third placed coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Isa Mustafa have indicated they will not accept Haradinaj’s invitation. 

Despite this, Haradinaj, the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), told a press conference that Kosovo’s new government would be formed in record time. He said, “At the same time I will not cease talking to each elected MP”, but emphasised that he would prefer a broad-based government.

President Hashim Thaci said in an interview with RFE/RL published on July 7 that he planned to give Haradinaj the mandate to form a new government. Haradinaj’s Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) is in coalition with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which Thaci led until he stepped down on being elected Kosovo’s president. 

However, a rival coalition led by Mustafa has already turned down Haradinaj’s invitation. 

Mustafa said he does not even plan to attend a meeting with Haradinaj, RTK reported. He reiterated that the LDK would not enter any type of coalition with the PDK. Mustafa hence said that they will wait for the PAN coalition’s attempt to form the new government.

Meanwhile, Vetevendosje has opposing views to the parties in Haradinaj’s coalition on many key issues and is also seen as an unlikely coalition partner. Its leader has said he will try to form a coalition with Mustafa’s Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and its allies. 

The June early election was called after Mustafa’s government lost a no-confidence motion on May 10. MPs from the PDK – the LDK’s then coalition partner – sided with the opposition to vote in favour of the motion.

On June 11, the PAN coalition, which consists of the PDK, the AAK and the Initiative for Kosovo (Nisma), won the largest share of the vote – 33.74% and giving it 39 lawmakers. The PDK, AAK and Nisma are all headed by former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders, which was likely an important factor in the parties’ last-minute decision to run together. This year, a new war crimes court – the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers – is expected to launch judicial activities to try former KLA fighters. 

Vetevendosje, the biggest opposition party in the last parliament, won 27.49% of the votes, which translates to 32 MPs. A coalition of Mustafa’s LDK, the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), led by Kosovo’s wealthiest businessman Behgjet Pacolli, and the newborn Alternativa, was pushed into third place with 25.53% of the votes or 29 seats in the parliament.

Kosovo’s parliament has 120 lawmakers. 20 seats are guaranteed for representatives of minority communities, with at least 10 going to representatives of the Kosovo Serb community. According to the Constitution, “The Government is considered elected when it receives the majority vote of all deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo.”