Kosovo’s parliament has elected academic and economist Justina Shiroka Pula as the country’s new president, ending a prolonged institutional deadlock and avoiding another snap election.
Shiroka Pula secured 81 votes in the 120-seat Assembly during a late-night session. Her election came shortly before a constitutional deadline that could have triggered another national vote.
The political crisis had lasted more than 19 months and had already contributed to two early parliamentary elections. Shiroka Pula emerged as a compromise candidate backed by the ruling Vetevendosje party and the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo.
The new president previously served as head of Kosovo’s Academy of Sciences and Arts. She is the third woman to hold Kosovo’s presidency since the country’s post-war independence.
The vote also came amid a wider dispute over the powers of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, which investigates alleged war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 conflict. The new president will now take office with the task of helping restore institutional stability while Kosovo continues to face significant political and international challenges.
