She received 81 of 120 votes and was sworn in; agreement on a candidate averted another snap election.
Kosovo’s parliament elected Justina Shiroka-Pula, from the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, as the country’s president. She received 81 of 120 lawmakers’ votes and took the oath of office in parliament immediately after the vote.
One lawmaker voted for Shiroka-Pula’s rival, Eliza Hoxha, and two ballots were invalid. Prime Minister Albin Kurti proposed Shiroka-Pula shortly before the vote. SRF reported that lawmakers reached agreement on the final possible day: failure to elect a president would have led to parliament’s dissolution and another election.
Shiroka-Pula is an economist and heads the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts. She served in parliament for the Democratic Party from 2011 to 2014 and left party offices in 2017. The presidential office had been vacant since April, when Vjosa Osmani’s term ended.
Local and international news outlets also reported the 81-vote result. The election ended a prolonged political deadlock and prevented another electoral cycle.