Debate within the Democratic League of Kosovo has flared again after Vjosa Osmani, Kosovo’s former president and currently an LDK MP, criticized Isa Mustafa and Avdullah Hoti. Her remarks prompted responses from the two former prime ministers, reopening the disputes that accompanied her initial departure from the party and her subsequent return.
These developments come as the LDK heads toward its internal elections in 2027. Political analysts say the clashes expose deep organizational and political difficulties, raising the risk of further weakening the party. Nexhat Haziri interprets Osmani’s return as a divisive attempt to secure the party leadership, while Milazim Maraj links overcoming the crisis to democratic elections, a free vote and the inclusion of new talent.
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During her interview on Kanal10, Osmani discussed her relationships with former party colleagues, the situation within the LDK and the record of previous governments. She focused her criticism on the administrations led by Hashim Thaçi and Isa Mustafa, while urging the Kurti government to learn from the failures of its predecessors.
According to Osmani, the government should strive to improve and show greater ambition rather than reproduce weaker versions of Isa’s and Hashim’s models. She added that, during her two years as president, she had been forced to deal with the consequences of damage caused by others before her.
When the media asked Isa Mustafa to comment on her remarks, he chose a brief and sharp response. The former prime minister said Osmani was not worth engaging with, saying she had fallen to a low point.
Avdullah Hoti also reacted on social media after the interview, though without naming Osmani. He built his response around the phrase “political tourism,” alluding to moves between parties and the positions taken by those who switch political affiliations.
Hoti described this behavior as unethical and wrote that the passage of time was making things clearer. According to him, the end of such a political season leaves its protagonists homeless, frustrated and agitated as they await the next offer. He added that those he described as political wheeler-dealers might secure another offer, but shelter with an opponent who uses you for their own interests cannot replace a home. He concluded by reiterating that time was revealing every truth.
Osmani’s relationship with the LDK has long been marked by clashes. After establishing herself as one of the party’s leading figures, she broke away over disagreements with its leadership at the time, particularly Isa Mustafa, and continued her political activities through the Guxo List. After her presidential term ended, she returned to the LDK, presenting the move as an opportunity to contribute to the party where she had begun her career.
Her return, however, also faced opposition. In her latest interview, Osmani said some people had demanded that she apologize before returning, a condition she had rejected.
She explained that she had refused to apologize for anything, arguing that the LDK itself had pleaded with her to return. Osmani insisted that she had asked the party for nothing, including any party position, and was not asking it for anything now. She summed up her reason for returning as a desire to help.
Some of her criticism was directed at LDK MPs who did not support the party’s agreement with the Vetëvendosje Movement on the presidency. Osmani claimed that some of them were prioritizing narrow personal interests at the expense of their own party.
In discussing the issue, she said it was understandable that SHIK would object, but described the behavior of those within the party who, she said, were acting in their own interests as appalling and harmful.
Osmani also revisited the formation of the Hoti government in 2020, following the fall of the Kurti government. She alleged that the votes she had won in that election as a candidate for prime minister had been improperly used to establish the succeeding administration.
According to her, Hoti needed to recognize that he had made a mistake by forming the government through what she described as the illicit transfer of her votes and the theft of the public’s will. Osmani’s contention was that the support she had received as a candidate for prime minister had been used to form that government.
During the interview, she also raised the issue of certain LDK representatives’ relationships with the Serb List and Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq. Singling out Hykmete Bajrami, Osmani challenged the MP’s positions on the Serb List. She also criticized Hoti’s meeting with Vuçiq and his use of the word “razumem.”
The 2027 internal contest in the shadow of party clashes
In a statement to “Bota sot,” analyst Nexhat Haziri said Osmani’s latest positions signaled tensions during the election process the LDK is expected to hold next year. He sees them as signs of a hostile atmosphere within the party.
Haziri believes the LDK’s difficulties are both political and organizational. According to him, the current leadership is unable to keep either the party structures or its parliamentary group under control, a situation that has caused the party to lose its influence in Kosovo’s politics.
For the analyst, Osmani’s return is not a development that unites the party. He considers it a mission that encourages division and weakens the LDK, with the aim of securing the leadership and using the party to serve her interests and those of a small circle close to her.
Elaborating on this view, Haziri said the statements had not surprised him. In his interpretation, Osmani aims to take the leadership regardless of how strong the LDK remains, provided it retains enough strength to serve her interests and those of the group around her. He linked these ambitions to his warning of tense elections and the major crisis he believes the party is experiencing.
Haziri also questioned Osmani’s credibility in judging the Mustafa and Hoti governments or seeking the LDK leadership. In making his argument, he pointed to an issue from her time as president.
He described Osmani as the person with the least credibility to speak about these two governments, let alone lead the party. Haziri claimed that even the LDK’s fiercest opponents recognize Isa Mustafa’s administration as the best Kosovo has had to date.
The analyst further recalled that Osmani had been nominated and elected president by LVV and that, during her term, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Donika Gërvalla, had been penalized for failing to disclose the expenses of Osmani’s husband, diplomat Prindon Sadriu. On that basis, he told “Bota sot” that he considered it an insult to society when Osmani spoke about corruption and misgovernance.
In 2022, the Information and Privacy Agency fined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora €13,000 for failing to provide access to documents concerning diplomat Prindon Sadriu’s travel expenses. At the time, the ministry responded that its system did not contain separate records of individual diplomats’ expenses.
Maraj calls for a free vote and opportunities for new talent
Milazim Maraj sees the source of the conflict in problems that have accumulated within the LDK over the years. In his assessment, the absence of genuinely democratic electoral processes and the dominance of personal and group interests have fueled the current situation.
According to Maraj, since President Ibrahim Rugova’s death, party elections have relied primarily on acclamation rather than a free vote. He argues that this approach has undermined internal democracy and driven capable people away from the LDK.
The analyst said voting by applause and acclamation had replaced democratic competition since Rugova’s death. He described this practice as contrary to the LDK’s political philosophy and democratic standards, linking it to the emergence of jockeying for position and the abuse of votes.
Maraj added that these shortcomings had gone unchallenged because of the absence of democratic forces within the party. Instead, he said, individual interests or those of small interest groups had gained the upper hand.
Addressing Osmani’s criticism of the six LDK MPs, he said their opposition to the agreement on the presidency had not served the electorate. Maraj also took issue with Isa Mustafa’s response, describing it as baseless and accusing the former party leader of damaging the party for personal interests.
In his view, Mustafa’s position on the situation was not only unfounded but also highly unacceptable. He claimed that the former leader’s advice had no positive impact and was not welcomed by the membership, while placing responsibility for exploiting and damaging the LDK on Mustafa himself.
According to Maraj, the former leader’s current interventions are intended to support the subordinates he still has within the party. The analyst also accused Mustafa of being adept at securing personal benefits and devising strategies to obtain them.
For the LDK’s future, Maraj considers it crucial to organize internal elections from the grassroots up, guaranteeing a free vote. He believes the party has no shortage of people equipped to renew it, but they must be given the opportunities they deserve so that it can regain its political role and follow President Ibrahim Rugova’s path.
Regarding the six MPs, he said a lack of cooperation alone was not sufficient grounds for their dismissal. Nevertheless, in his view, their stance had harmed the LDK and prevented a joint decision on electing the president, with consequences for Kosovo’s institutional procedures and image as well.
In closing, Maraj stressed that a democratic process beginning at the grassroots would bring forward new, capable and promising talent seeking to build a future in Kosovo. He said the LDK had plenty of such people and that this was the path to strengthening democracy and protecting the country’s freedom and independence.
