The unprecedented political vacuum left by the resignation of Kosovo's president in September and the no-confidence vote given to the government earlier this week threatens to kill the momentum of a rapprochement with Serbia, which recently expressed readiness to engage in talks with its former province, independent since 2008. The culmination of a protracted political crisis in Kosovo saw parliament vote 66-1 to disband itself on 2 November. After the vote, acting Kosovo President Jakup Krasniqi announced that snap elections would be held on 12 December.
It was the first time that a government had been toppled by its own ruling party, after being called upon to vote by the sitting prime minister, the website Southeast European Times reported.
Speaking after the motion, outgoing Prime Minister Hashim Taqi said the country had been in crisis since President Fatmir Sejdiu resigned in September. Since the president of Kosovo is elected by parliament, the early parliamentary elections suggest that a new head of state is unlikely to be voted in this year.
Kosovo's first elections since it declared independence are expected to delay the start of European Union-sponsored talks with Serbia on improving their bilateral relations, agencies reported.
Dialogue with Belgrade should start "only after new institutions emerging from these polls are constituted," interim President Jakup Krasniqi reportedly said.
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