OMM Redaksiyası
Kosovo’s parliament has elected economist and academic Justina Shiroka Pula as the country’s new president. The vote took place just hours before a constitutional deadline that could have led to the dissolution of the legislature.
The 73-year-old head of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts secured broad support from lawmakers during a parliamentary session held overnight. Before the vote, political parties had negotiated over presidential candidates and key legislative requirements.
Agreement reached on candidacy
Prime Minister Albin Kurti nominated Shiroka Pula after opposition parties rejected his earlier candidates. The proposal won the support of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), paving the way for an agreement on her candidacy.
Before the presidential vote, lawmakers approved amendments to a law governing Kosovo’s relations with the court based in The Hague that prosecutes former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The amendments were among the main conditions put forward by the PDK during negotiations.
The changes provide for limiting the court’s jurisdiction in some cases and allowing certain proceedings to be transferred to Kosovo. The legislation also contains provisions on determining sentences and where convicted people will serve them.
Many people gathered outside parliament as they awaited the vote. Celebrations broke out in the area after lawmakers approved the amendments.
Shiroka Pula receives 81 votes
Shiroka Pula and PDK lawmaker Eliza Hoxha stood in the presidential election. Of the 84 lawmakers who took part in the vote, 81 backed Shiroka Pula, while Hoxha received one vote. Two ballots were declared invalid.
After the result was announced, Shiroka Pula was sworn in outside parliament and pledged to serve all the people of Kosovo. In her first address, she said she would protect the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Shiroka Pula has worked in the field of economics for many years. She served as Kosovo’s minister of energy and mining from 2008 to 2011 and was a member of parliament from 2011 to 2014. In December 2025, she was elected head of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts.
The vote followed a Constitutional Court ruling that set October 6 as the final date for parliament to elect a president. The court warned that parliament would be dissolved if no president was elected by then.
Electing a new head of state before the deadline allowed lawmakers to avert an imminent institutional crisis and maintain continuity in the country’s political leadership.
