© Associated Press
– Vosa Osmani
Kosovo’s parliament elected Vyosa Osmani as its new president last night, world news agencies reported. She received the support of 71 of the 82 deputies present in the hall from the 120-member Kosovo parliament. Eleven votes were invalid, and two opposition parties and members of the Serb minority boycotted the vote.
On Saturday, the first two rounds of voting, which required a qualified two-thirds majority, failed due to a lack of quorum. An absolute majority of 61 votes was enough in yesterday’s third round, provided that at least 80 deputies are present in the hall. Vyosa Osmani, 38, is a law graduate and law professor in the United States. Her candidacy was nominated by the ruling left-wing Self-Determination movement, which won a landslide victory in the February snap parliamentary elections.
Vyosa Osmani is the seventh president in the history of independent Kosovo and the second woman in office, according to the Associated Press. AFP notes that she is the most popular politician in the country and embodies the takeover of power by a new generation of politicians determined to end corruption.
Osmani has been acting president since November, when her predecessor, Hashim Thaci, resigned to stand trial on war crimes charges leveled at him by The Hague tribunal. In Kosovo, the president has mostly ceremonial functions. However, the head of state plays a leading role in foreign policy and is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Resuming talks to normalize relations with Serbia is a priority for Vjosa Osmani, although Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government of its Self-Determination movement says it is not among its key goals, the AP notes. / BTA
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