Kosovo elects Justina Shiroka-Pula president
Kosovo’s parliament has elected economist Justina Shiroka-Pula as the country’s new president, narrowly avoiding a constitutional deadline that could have triggered another snap election.
Shiroka-Pula, 73, secured 81 votes in the 120-seat Assembly, one more than the required threshold. She succeeds after months of political deadlock over the largely ceremonial presidency.
“This mandate does not belong to just one person. It belongs to our citizens,” Shiroka-Pula said after taking the oath. “I will be the president of all citizens.”
The vote came just hours before the constitutional deadline. Kosovo’s Constitutional Court had ruled that the 60-day period for electing a president began on Aug. 8 and ended Oct. 6. Failure to elect a president would have led to the dissolution of parliament and another early election.
Deal clears way for presidential vote
Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling Vetevendosje party had proposed several candidates during the day, but opposition parties rejected them.
Kurti later nominated Shiroka-Pula, securing support from the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo after an agreement to amend the law governing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, the Hague-based court handling cases linked to the Kosovo war.
Parliament approved the legal changes before proceeding to the presidential vote.
The amendments seek to limit the court’s jurisdiction and transfer some cases outside its mandate to Kosovo’s judiciary. They also include provisions on maximum sentences, the serving of some sentences in Kosovo and potential presidential pardons.
The changes do not affect existing sentences imposed on four former Kosovo Liberation Army commanders, including former President Hashim Thaci, who have said they will pursue appeals through the existing court process.
Thousands celebrate outside parliament
The changes to the court law prompted celebrations among thousands of people gathered outside parliament in Pristina. Fireworks were launched over the capital after lawmakers approved the amendments.
The Specialist Chambers have long faced criticism from opposition parties and Kosovo war veterans. The court was established under Kosovo law and based in The Hague to prosecute alleged crimes committed by ethnic Albanian guerrilla fighters during and after the Kosovo war.
Shiroka-Pula brings academic background
Shiroka-Pula is an economist who spent much of her career in academia and public service.
She served as Kosovo’s minister of energy and mining from 2008 to 2011 and later served as a member of parliament from 2011 to 2014.
In December 2025, she became president of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, making her the first woman to lead the institution.
Her election to the presidency ends a prolonged political standoff and removes the immediate threat of another parliamentary election.
