Kosovo lawmakers elect Justina Shiroka Pula as president to avert snap election

Kosovo lawmakers elected economist and academic Justina Shiroka Pula as the nation's new president during a late-night parliamentary vote, Euronews and Al Jazeera reported. The election occurred moments before a constitutional deadline, avoiding a snap election. Euronews reported that the vote concluded a legislative deadlock lasting over 19 months, while Al Jazeera noted that lawmakers elected her in the first minutes of Wednesday. [1][2]

Al Jazeera reported that Pula emerged as a compromise choice after the ruling Vetevendosje Movement and the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo reached an agreement on her candidacy. The vote took place amid political tensions and protests against the convictions of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders. As FTMQ News reported earlier, former President Hashim Thaci and other former rebel leaders were convicted in September by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. [2][10]

Pula is a Kosovar politician, author, and economist who became the seventh President of Kosovo. She previously served as Minister of Energy and Mining from 2008 to 2011 and was the first woman to lead the Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts. Euronews noted that her election makes her the third female president since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, following Atifete Jahjaga and Vjosa Osmani. [1][7]

The election of the new president has helped end heightened tensions within the parliament and on the streets, according to Al Jazeera. Prishtina Insight reported that Pula was subsequently inaugurated into the office. [2][6]