Kosovo's parliament failed to elect a new government, leading to a snap election amid a political crisis. President Vjosa Osmani must now call an early vote.
Kosovo parliament on Wednesday failed to elect a new government in a last-ditch attempt, paving the way for a snap election following a month-long political crisis.
The second Prime Minister-designate Glauk Konjufca, from the governing Self-Determination Movement party (Vetëvendosje or LVV) won just 56 votes in the 120-member assembly, which is just short of a majority needed for the election.
The vote is a blow for the governing party of acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The party won the most votes at an election in February, but not enough to rule alone and has since failed to form a political alliance that would secure a parliamentary majority.
President Vjosa Osmani now must dissolve parliament and call an early vote, to be held within 40 days.
Kurti, the acting prime minister who has been in power since 2021, has faced criticism for allegedly curbing political dialogue and straining relations with Kosovo's allies in the United States and the European Union.
Konjufca, a former Parliament speaker who was proposed as a possible compromise to Kurti, has urged lawmakers to "spare" Kosovo another vote, saying it "would be arrogant to take the country to an election again."
"If we hold one (vote) in December, who guarantees that we won't have another one in March as well," Konjufca said.
The ongoing crisis also means that Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking fears of possible negative effects on the already struggling economy in the country of some 2 million.
A vote on Wednesday on the budget and agreement with Brussels on its Growth Plan also failed, with all parties except LVV and eight non-majority MPs boycotting the session, considering it unconstitutional.
Belgrade has refused to acknowledge Kosovo's independence declared in 2008 which has been recognised by the US, the UK and most of the EU's 27 countries but not by Russia and China.
Unresolved relations with Serbia have blocked Kosovo's attempts to become an EU candidate country. Kosovo remains the only Western Balkan EU hopeful out of six designated as a potential candidate.