Kosovo‘s President Vjosa Osmani has dissolved parliament and called for snap elections, following politicians’ failure to elect a new head of state within the constitutional deadline.
The move plunges Europe’s youngest nation, which harbours aspirations to join the European Union, deeper into political uncertainty.
Parliament had until midnight on Thursday to choose a president before Ms Osmani’s term concludes in April.
However, opposition parties refused to participate in the vote, a decision that, under the Balkan country’s law, automatically triggers fresh parliamentary elections.
This latest development extends a protracted political deadlock in Kosovo, which saw no functioning government for much of 2025 due to a fractured parliament unable to elect a speaker for months.
The upcoming vote will mark the third election in just over a year, following a snap election held on 28 December after a previous poll failed to form a government.
Ms Osmani said: “A parliament that cannot elect a president cannot continue indefinitely to drag out the process as is being attempted.
“No one should wish for another political cycle, especially at this moment when the country needs stability.”
Ms Osmani is scheduled to meet with political parties on Friday to determine a date for the new elections.
A decisive victory for Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje party in December had initially been seen as a potential end to the stalemate. At the time, many political analysts anticipated that the opposition would participate in the presidential vote.
However, despite Vetevendosje securing enough seats to form a government, it failed to gain the necessary opposition support to elect a president.
Opposition parties have demanded a consensual candidate, while Mr Kurti has put forward his foreign minister, Glauk Konjufca.
A former Serbian province, Kosovo declared independence in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended after a US-led Nato intervention.
Serbia does not recognise the split and tensions have simmered ever since.