Bekim Sejdiu has again spoken publicly to put to rest any doubts about his name being in the race for president of Kosovo. He made it clear that he has withdrawn, saying he did not have the necessary votes and that the head of state should not be elected simply for the sake of political bargaining or to avoid elections.
Sejdiu confirms exit from the race
Sejdiu said he will no longer be part of the presidential race, adding that he informed Prime Minister Albin Kurti and LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku of the decision.
He said he had made this position known earlier as well, suggesting that his name should no longer be kept in circulation as part of the political formulas of the day.
“The president should not be chosen only to avoid elections”
In his position, Sejdiu opposed the idea that the election of the president should serve only as a mechanism to avoid another electoral process.
According to him, the post should go to someone who deserves that duty, not be used as a temporary solution to get past a political deadlock.
Political agreement was not enough
Sejdiu said his candidacy had emerged from a political agreement between the LDK and the Vetëvendosje Movement. He said he would also have welcomed support from other political parties.
However, according to his statement, the positive climate or assessments of his profile did not translate into concrete numbers in the Assembly. It was precisely this lack of votes, according to his account, that pushed him out of the race.
Message to the parties and Kurti’s offer to PDK
Sejdiu stressed clearly that the main reason for his withdrawal was the lack of votes: he said that since he did not have the votes, he left the race.
He also called for the election of the president not to be tied to other political issues that he considers important for the country.
His statements come on the day the deadline for electing the president expires. Against this backdrop, Albin Kurti made a political offer to the PDK, saying that LVV together with lawmakers from the communities would secure 62 votes if the PDK guaranteed half of its votes for Bekim Sejdiu.
Sejdiu’s withdrawal makes it even clearer that the presidential race in Kosovo is not being driven by consensus around a unifying figure, but by party calculations over numbers and deadlines.
Beyond the political declarations, the issue remains the same: if the votes are missing, the candidacy falls, regardless of the verbal support that may circulate in public.