Kosovo's Top Parties Sign Deal on PM to End Stalemate
Kosovo's two main political parties Monday signed a deal naming Isa Mustafa as prime minister, a move that could help end a nearly six-month-long political crisis.
The deal between Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and outgoing prime minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was inked in parliament in front of journalists but no details were revealed.
Deputy Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi, who is close to Thaci, wrote on Facebook that "Isa Mustafa will be Kosovo's new prime minister."
Thaci, a former guerrilla fighter who headed the former Serbian province since it proclaimed independence in 2008, "will be deputy prime minister and foreign minister," Selimi wrote.
The deal between the two parties has to be approved by parliament which is due to convene later on Monday to elect a speaker.
This would pave the way for the election of a new government to end a political stalemate that has plagued Kosovo since snap elections in June.
Once the parliamentary speaker is elected, President Atifete Jahjaga has to formally designate a new prime minister, which could also take place later on Monday.
Although PDK came first in the June 8 vote with only 37 seats in the 120-strong parliament, it was unable to form a ruling coalition that backed Thaci as prime minister.
But with 30 MPs from the LDK, as well as 20 from parties representing minorities which automatically participate in the government, the newly agreed coalition would have had a comfortable parliamentary majority.
However, four opposition parties led by the LDK, formed a bloc aimed at blocking Thaci's third mandate and pledged to form their own coalition.
But this coalition did not succeed in preventing the election of the PDK's choice for speaker, which in turn prevented them from forming their own government.
After a months-long battle to form a new government, Mustafa eventually turned his back on opposition allies and reached a deal with his main rival.
During the campaign for the June elections, Mustafa, a 63-year-old political veteran, pledged economic and political recovery in one of Europe's poorest countries.
Source: Agence France Presse
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