Kosovo's government under Albin Kurti falls

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Parliament of Kosovo voted by a majority last night to withdraw confidence in Albin Kurti's government, who will officially be acting Prime Minister from today.

82 MPs voted against Kurti's government last night, 32 were in favor and two abstained.

The motion to withdraw confidence in Kurti's government was initiated by the Democratic League of Kosovo (DSK), a member of the ruling coalition, led by Isa Mustafa.

Kurti's government was in power for 50 days, making it the shortest term for a Pristina government.

The crisis in Kosovo's government arose after Kosovo's President Hashim Thaçi signed a decree last week to impose a state of emergency to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection.

Kurti opposed this, calling the proposal a "coup attempt".

Thaçi's move was supported by the Minister of Internal Affairs from DSK, Agim Veliju, and the price for this support was Kurti's decision to dismiss him unilaterally and without prior consultation with Mustafa.

After Veliju's dismissal, DSK set Kurti a condition - to revoke the decision on his dismissal and to completely and unconditionally abolish the tariffs on products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Since Kurti did not respond to Mustafa's request, DSK decided to initiate a vote of no confidence in the government of which it is a part.