….73-year-old academic and former minister wins crucial parliamentary vote, avoiding another election as protests expose deep political tensions
By Burnett Munthali
PRISTINA-(MaraviPost)-Kosovo has elected Justina Shiroka Pula as its new president, ending a prolonged political deadlock after lawmakers reached a last-minute compromise to prevent the country from sliding into another election.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Pula secured 81 votes in parliament during the first minutes of Wednesday, one vote above the two-thirds majority required to become president and just hours before the constitutional deadline expired.
Her election followed weeks of political uncertainty and protests linked to convictions involving former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders, with demonstrators demanding changes to the legal framework governing the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
The governing Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) eventually agreed on Pula as a compromise candidate, allowing parliament to avoid triggering another early election.
Political analyst Donika Emini of the University of Graz told Al Jazeera that the decision reflected both political necessity and the need to restore the functioning of Kosovo’s institutions.
Pula, 73, becomes Kosovo’s third woman president after Atifete Jahjaga and Vjosa Osmani, bringing to the presidency a background spanning academia, government and parliamentary politics.
Born in Pristina in 1953, she studied economics at the University of Pristina before completing postgraduate studies in economic development in Zagreb and later obtaining a doctorate focusing on demographic investment and Kosovo’s economic development.
She spent much of her career at the University of Pristina, eventually becoming a professor and heading its department of management and informatics.
In December 2025, Pula became the first woman elected to lead the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, adding another prominent institutional role to her career.
Her political experience includes serving as Kosovo’s minister of energy and mining from 2008 to 2011 and later as a Democratic Party of Kosovo member of parliament between 2011 and 2014.
Her background therefore extends beyond academia, with experience inside Kosovo’s political institutions and civil society.
Pula’s supporters in parliament now include both the ruling LVV and the PDK, giving her a broader political base as she begins her presidential term.
However, Kosovo’s president has limited formal executive authority, meaning her influence will largely depend on relationships with the government, opposition parties and other state institutions.
The presidency nevertheless carries significant political and diplomatic responsibilities, including representing Kosovo internationally, protecting institutional continuity and helping mediate political disputes.
Emini said Pula’s academic and institutional experience could help her work with Kosovo’s international partners, while stressing that her ability to operate independently would depend on the political backing surrounding her office.
Her election also comes at a sensitive moment for Kosovo, following weeks of protests and political tensions surrounding the Specialist Chambers and convictions of former KLA figures.
The new president therefore takes office at a time when political parties face pressure to restore institutional stability while addressing divisions that remain unresolved within Kosovo’s political system.
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