(Corrects paragraph five to say 53 seats instead of 58)
PRISTINA, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The party of Kosovo’s caretaker prime minister, Albin Kurti, Vetevendosje (VV) and the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) agreed on Monday to back the election of a new president, a move that could break nearly two years of political deadlock.
The proposed candidate, Bekim Sejdiu, 51, is a law professor at the University of Pristina. He previously served as Kosovo’s ambassador to Turkey and as consul general in New York.
Kurti, whose party won the June 7 snap election, needs only a handful of votes from smaller minority parties to form a government. However, he lacks the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to elect a president.
Kosovo, one of Europe’s poorest countries, aims to join the European Union. Brussels has repeatedly said the country needs stable institutions capable of delivering reforms required for membership. Political instability has delayed reforms and slowed access to EU funding.
Together with several minority parties, the two parties can secure more than the 80 votes required to elect a president, a post that is largely ceremonial. Vetevendosje won 53 seats in the 120-member parliament, while the LDK came third with 18.
“We hope and believe that the Republic of Kosovo, as it has so often done in the past, will once again find a way to move forward and confront the major challenges that await us,” Sejdiu told a news conference after the agreement was reached.
Failure to elect a new president triggered the June snap election, the country’s third national vote in less than 18 months.
It remains unclear when lawmakers will convene to elect a parliamentary speaker, approve a new government and vote on the presidency.
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci;Editing by Ros Russell and Kevin Liffey)
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