Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani dissolved Parliament on Friday after lawmakers failed to elect her successor by a midnight Thursday deadline, citing a lack of quorum in Kosovo’s 120-member assembly. The move sets up a new political standoff over succession and elections at a time when Kosovo’s institutions have already been forced into repeated election cycles.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Osmani urged the country to hold a snap election as soon as possible. She said it was important for Kosovo to “wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability” as the war rages in the Middle East, adding: “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” and that “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.”
Osmani framed the decision as an effort to reduce the risk of further disruption, and she said the moment was difficult for the country. She told the AP: “It is a difficult time for the country, which I hope our institutions and all of our citizens will overcome with maturity and with dignity,” and she expressed hope that “we will once again show that our electoral democracy is strong.”
The president said she had not yet scheduled the early vote. If it is held, it would be the third ballot in just over a year. An election in February 2025 produced no clear majority and triggered an almost yearlong deadlock, which led to a snap vote in December 2025.
Osmani also referenced Kosovo’s broader political and regional context, including unresolved tensions with Serbia. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a 1998-99 war, and Serbia does not recognize the split, tensions that have simmered since. The AP reported that unresolved relations have blocked Kosovo’s attempts to become a candidate for EU membership.
Kosovo hosts a U.S. military base as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping mission, a factor that has fed concerns about security risk in the volatile Balkans. When asked by the AP about potential security risks, Osmani said: “there is always a risk, so we need to be very careful,” and she added: “I don’t think there is a reason to panic at this point in time, but we’re undertaking every single measure to make sure that if someone ever thinks of that (attacks on Kosovo) that it is absolutely prevented.”
Osmani said Kosovo is in close cooperation with its U.S. and European partners and with partners in the Middle East. She also said she has joined U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza.
Kurti and his ruling Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party have pushed back on Osmani’s decision to dissolve Parliament. The AP reported that Kurti criticized the move as “unconstitutional,” and the party has asked the Constitutional Court to temporarily suspend the deadline for electing Kosovo’s next president; it was not immediately clear when the court would rule.
Osmani took office in 2021. The AP reported that Vetevendosje swept the snap election in December and formed a new government in February after aligning with ethnic minority groups, shaping the parliamentary arithmetic that now underpins the latest crisis.
Osmani’s dissolution and her call for a quick snap vote leave Kosovo facing a short timetable for political resolution—while the court challenge remains pending and the underlying disputes with Serbia continue to complicate the country’s path toward EU membership.