In a last-minute attempt by the winning party in the February elections to maintain power and prevent snap elections, Vetevendosje leader and acting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti nominated former speaker Glauk Konjufca to form a government.

The move came one day before the deadline expired for President Vjosa Osmani to give the government-formation mandate to someone other than Kurti, or set snap parliamentary elections.

“Following a broad and deep consultations with our [Vetevendosje] Movement chairmanship, I propose to give the second mandate to form the government to Vice Chairman Glauk Konjufca,” Kurti told Vetevendosje’s General Council on Tuesday, soon after he finished a meeting with Osmani.

It is unclear whether the proposal was officially submitted to the President during that meeting. “I make this proposal out of the appreciation and trust I have, and everyone has, for Glauk, but also to prevent two-fold elections in December and April [2026],” Kurti said, referring to the looming election of a new President, which may cause a fresh crisis because no side currently has a majority to elect a head of state when Osmani’s five-year term ends.

Kurti said that in a potential Konjufca-led cabinet, he would take the position of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the same positions he gave Konjufca when he presented his cabinet on October 26, which did not get support in parliament.

Kurti, however, hinted that Konjufca’s cabinet might be short-lived, when he said the next government’s main duties would be the vote on the 2026 budget and on pending funding for the European Union’s Growth Plan before the announcement of new elections for April next year.

“We are giving this opportunity to the opposition to spare the country two elections. It is enough to have elections only in April, when the election of the President comes onto the agenda. I hope that they [the opposition parties] will not misuse and waste this opportunity,” he said.

“I want to assure you that the people expect you to soon return even stronger than in 2021,” 44-year-old Konjufca said, referencing Vetevendosje’s big parliamentary election victory that year, followed by a Kurti-led government which became the first to finish a four-year mandate. Noting that Kurti was the most voted-for person in Kosovo, Konjufca told him that, “as much as you have delighted the people … to the same extent you have also increased the fear of your opponents who have joined forces with one goal – to prevent you from forming a third government”.

Konjufca continued by claiming that Vetevendosje’s latest decision was designed to avoid early elections and vote ona budget, so the country does not endanger the welfare of its citizens, the EU growth plan, or the salaries of Radio Television of Kosovo staff.

However, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, seemed unconvinced about Kurti’s move and called new elections “a necessity”.

“The LDK appeals for fast, responsible action in full compliance with the Constitution and legal deadlines. The exit from the institutional blockade cannot be sought through unconstitutional actions and unclear agreements, but through a return to … the citizens,” it said.

Similarly, Ramush Haradinaj, former PM and head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, also expressed his objection. On November 5, he noted, the deadline for the President to make a decision on the formation of the government ends. “The President does not have a mandate to nominate anyone to form a government without evidence that the nominated candidate has the necessary majority,” Haradinaj wrote.

He added that, a “necessary majority is proven only by the deposited signatures of the deputies. In any other situation the President commits a grave constitutional violation … This farce must end immediately and the country must go to extraordinary elections.”

The Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, also objected to Kurti’s announcement. “Any attempt to give the mandate to this party again would constitute a waste of time, unnecessary delay and deepen the lack of trust in institutions … Currently, the only fair and democratic solution is new snap elections which … will give legitimacy to new institutions,” it said.