Kosovan presidential election, 2011
Encyclopedia
Indirect presidential elections were held in Kosovo
on 22 February, 2011.
(PDK) and the New Kosovo Alliance
(AKR), the AKR's leader Behgjet Pacolli
was to be elected president by the coalition's MPs. However, not all members of the PDK were in favour of this.
had not been reached in the first two rounds. Pacolli resigned on 30 March 2011 and was again replaced as Acting President by Jakup Krasniqi
, the Assembly's speaker.
agreed on a compromise candidate: police commander Atifete Jahjaga
. She was elected with 80 votes of the 100 MPs present. It was also agreed that she would only serve on an interim basis, with a direct presidential election planned for 2012 after the necessary constitutional changes have passed. A decision was also made to hold early parliamentary elections in early 2013.
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
on 22 February, 2011.
Background
As stipulated in the coalition agreement between the Democratic Party of KosovoDemocratic Party of Kosovo
The Democratic Party of Kosovo is the largest political party in Kosovo . It is a social democratic party and the main leftist party in Kosovo....
(PDK) and the New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance is a political party in Kosovo which is in the current coalition government made up by the PDK and AKR. The party was founded on 3 May 2006, by Behgjet Pacolli the founding owner of Mabetex,the Swiss based project engineering firm responsible for some of the most significant...
(AKR), the AKR's leader Behgjet Pacolli
Behgjet Pacolli
Behgjet Isa Pacolli is a former President of the Republic of Kosovo, and is now First Deputy Prime Minister serving in the cabinet of Hashim Thaçi...
was to be elected president by the coalition's MPs. However, not all members of the PDK were in favour of this.
First vote
It took three rounds of voting for Pacolli to be elected; he got 54, 58 and 62 votes respectively. Only 67 MPs were present, with the 53 opposition MPs boycotting the election.Resignation of Pacolli
The election was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court on 28 March 2011 with a vote of 7 to 2, as the necessary quorumQuorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
had not been reached in the first two rounds. Pacolli resigned on 30 March 2011 and was again replaced as Acting President by Jakup Krasniqi
Jakup Krasniqi
Jakup Krasniqi is an Albanian politician and former acting President of Kosovo. He is the Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo.-Early life:...
, the Assembly's speaker.
Second vote
In a second vote on April 7, the PDK, AKR, and the opposition Democratic League of KosovoDemocratic League of Kosovo
The Democratic League of Kosovo is the second largest political party in Kosovo. It is a conservative and liberal conservative party; the main right-wing party in Kosovo....
agreed on a compromise candidate: police commander Atifete Jahjaga
Atifete Jahjaga
Atifete Jahjaga is the fourth and current President of Kosovo. She is the first female, the first non-partisan candidate, and the youngest to be elected to the office. She is also the first female head of state in modern Balkans...
. She was elected with 80 votes of the 100 MPs present. It was also agreed that she would only serve on an interim basis, with a direct presidential election planned for 2012 after the necessary constitutional changes have passed. A decision was also made to hold early parliamentary elections in early 2013.