Kosovo government of Albin Kurti falls

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

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

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

Kurti's government was in power for 50 days, making it the shortest mandate of any Pristina government.

The crisis in Kosovo's government arose after Kosovo's President Hashim Thaçi signed a decree last week to introduce 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 LDK, Agim Veliu, and the price of this support was Kurti's decision to dismiss him unilaterally and without prior consultation with Mustafa.

After Veliu's dismissal, LDK set a condition for Kurti - to revoke the decision on his dismissal and to completely and unconditionally abolish the taxes on products from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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