Pristina, Kosovo. The small government of Kosovo will be having a new election after a failure of confidence in the current administration yesterday.
The Kosovo lawmakers have voted on Wednesday to dismiss the government of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa in a no-confidence motion, triggering new parliamentary elections next month.Following the vote, President Hashim Thaci dissolved parliament. According to the constitution, the election has to be held within 45 days.
The vote was note close and very reflective of the divide in the current coalition with 78 MPs in the 120-seat parliament voting to dismiss the cabinet, which the opposition had accused of failing to meet its campaign pledges and creating public distrust in Kosovo.
New elections will further postpone the adoption of a demarcation deal with Montenegro, key for the European Union to lift its requirement of needing a visa to travel to Kosovo and complication NATO talks for Montenegros intergration into the organization. The vote will also temporarily stall EU-sponsored talks between Kosovo and Serbia, key for both countries to progress towards membership in the European Union.
Trying to avoid the vote of no confidence, Mustafa said his government has done a good job in tackling unemployment and maintaining a low public debt.”In my government there are no corrupt people,” he further stated. But in the past 18 months, the work of parliament has been interrupted by incidents including street riots, opposition deputies throwing teargas and firing of a rocket-propelled grenade at the building.
Kosovo broke from Serbia in 1999 after NATO attacks upon the region, its independence is not recognized by Serbia or the Russian Federation.