Justina Shiroka Pula elected Kosovo president at last minute, avoiding snap elections

10:21

By: Azzat Manal

Justina Shiroka Pula elected Kosovo president at last minute, avoiding snap elections

Kosovo has avoided another round of early parliamentary elections after lawmakers elected economist and academic Justina Shiroka Pula as the country’s new president in a late-night vote.

Shiroka Pula secured 81 votes in the 120-seat Assembly, narrowly clearing the two-thirds threshold required for the election of a president. The vote began shortly before the constitutional deadline and was completed in the early hours of Wednesday, bringing an end to months of uncertainty over the vacant presidency.

Her election prevented the automatic dissolution of parliament and the prospect of another snap election, which would have deepened the political instability that has affected Kosovo in recent months. The country has already experienced repeated electoral and institutional disputes as political parties struggled to reach agreements over key state institutions.

Shiroka Pula was proposed by Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling Vetevendosje movement as part of a last-minute political agreement with the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo. Her candidacy helped break the deadlock over the presidential post, which had remained vacant following the end of Vjosa Osmani’s term.

The new president is an economist and academic who previously served as Kosovo’s minister of energy and mining from 2008 to 2011. She later became a member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and, more recently, led the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, becoming the first woman to hold that position.

Although the presidency is largely ceremonial, the office carries important responsibilities in Kosovo’s foreign relations and national security. The president also serves as commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, giving the position a significance beyond its formal executive powers.

The presidential vote followed a broader political agreement in parliament over amendments concerning the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a Hague-based court established to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes linked to the 1998–1999 Kosovo conflict. Parliament approved the amendments with 88 votes before proceeding to the presidential election.

The issue has generated strong political and public reactions in Kosovo, particularly after the recent convictions of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders. Demonstrations have taken place in Pristina, adding further pressure to an already fragile political environment.

Following her election, Shiroka Pula was sworn in before parliament and pledged to serve all citizens. Her election gives Kosovo a new head of state while temporarily easing a political deadlock that had threatened to trigger another electoral cycle.

The vote is therefore seen as an important institutional development for Kosovo, although disagreements between the government, opposition parties and other political actors remain unresolved. The new president will take office at a time when the country continues to face domestic political tensions and sensitive issues linked to its relations with Serbia and its broader European integration ambitions.