Kosovo’s Constitutional Court Orders MPs to Elect President by 6 October

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has ordered members of parliament to elect a new president by 6 October, warning that failure to do so would trigger snap parliamentary elections — the fourth such vote in two years. The ruling, issued on 23 September 2026, states that the 60-day constitutional deadline for choosing a head of state began on 8 August and expires on 6 October, according to Balkan Insight.

A presidency left vacant

Kosovo has had no president since 4 April 2026, when Vjosa Osmani’s five-year term ended. Parliament Speaker Albulena Haxhiu, of the governing Vetëvendosje movement, has served as acting president since then. The vacancy reflects a wider political deadlock that has persisted since Kosovo’s June parliamentary elections, with parties unable to agree on who should hold the post, which is filled by a vote of MPs rather than by the public.

A candidacy that collapsed

On 31 August, Vetëvendosje and the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) agreed to back Bekim Sejdiu, a former Constitutional Court judge, diplomat and law professor at the University of Pristina, as a joint candidate, according to Balkan Insight and European Western Balkans. Sejdiu withdrew his candidacy on 14 September after disagreements within the LDK’s own parliamentary group left him short of the votes needed. The Constitutional Court’s ruling followed roughly a week later, instructing MPs to settle on a candidate before the deadline passes. If parliament fails to act, new elections would have to be called within 45 days, meaning a vote in mid-November rather than at year’s end.

Why It Matters

Kosovo’s presidency carries out largely ceremonial duties, but the months-long standoff over filling it has left the young Balkan state, an aspirant for European Union membership, without full institutional continuity since its June elections. Another round of snap elections would add further uncertainty for a country still consolidating its state institutions. The Constitutional Court’s intervention highlights the judiciary’s role as an arbiter in Kosovo’s coalition politics, at a moment when the country needs a functioning presidency to help unblock broader questions of government formation.