Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani opened the way for new snap elections on Friday morning when she signed a decree to dissolve the parliament, less than nine hours after MPs failed to elect a new head of state before the constitutional deadline.

In a press conference, Osmani announced that the parliament had failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibility.

Osmani noted she will soon invite political parties for consultations before announcing the date for new parliamentary elections.

“Citizens naturally did not want elections,” Osmani said. “This situation was created by the Parliament’s failure to carry out its constitutional duty. No one should want another political cycle, especially at a time when the country needs stability.”

Osmani also accused political parties of ‘deliberately blocking the process’ to elect the next president.

“This failure was neither accidental nor unplanned, but carefully calculated and designed,” she said, adding that,  “irresponsible individuals with dangerous intentions brought the country to this point.”

Diplomatic representatives from several foreign embassies were present at the Government of Kosovo building on Friday morning, although no prior announcement of meetings had been made.

In an immediate reaction, Albin Kurti’s advisor Jeton Zulfaj in a statement on Facebook wrote that ruling Vetëvendosje fully respected the constitution by putting two candidates in the competition, as a constitutional requirement. “It carried out all the constitutional procedures  for the election of the president,” he wrote.

Zulfaj blamed two opposition parties, PDK and LDK, for the failure to propose any candidate and subsequently for making the quorum of a minimum of 80 MPs present in the room impossible.

“Last year [the opposition] wasted our time by boycotting the election of the parliament’s speaker, now they want to waste our time again by boycotting the election of the president,” Zulfaj said.

Lumir Abdixhiku, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, said his party supports and welcomes Osmani’s decision.

“The LDK appreciates the responsibility and constitutional clarity shown in this decision, in defense of the constitutional order and the normal functioning of the Republic’s institutions,” Abdixhiku wrote.

Kosovo MPs Fail to Elect President, Sparking New Political Crisis

March 5 was the final deadline for the Parliament to elect a new president, as Osmani’s current mandate is due to end on April 4.

On Thursday, Osmani urged MPs to amend the constitution to allow the president to be elected directly by a citizens’ vote rather than through a parliamentary vote, as currently required.

While the proposal had the backing of main political parties, it was not put up for a vote because its approval needed double two thirds, meaning the support from at least 13 of the 20 non- Albanian MPs, and nine MPs from the Belgrade- backed Srpska Lista were not present in the session.

At Friday’s conference, Osmani noted that, “the amendments would have no effect on the current presidential election. “The possibility for election by the citizens will not happen for another 5 years—it has nothing to do with my mandate.”