In line with the LDK’s governing coalition agreement with the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, the former PM and leader of the PDK, Hashim Thaci, was appointed as the new deputy prime minister and the foreign minister.
Mustafa’s new government, which got the votes of 73 out of 120 deputies in Kosovo parliament, will have 21 ministers, two more than the last cabinet.
While the last cabinet had two deputy prime ministers, the new one will have three - Hashim Thaci, the first Deputy Prime Minister, Kujtim Shala, from the LDK and Branimir Stojanovic, from the Serbian List.
Mustafa`s cabinet will also have one more minister without portfolio, as Edita Tahiri was assigned a ministry without portfolio and leadership of the dialogue with Serbia.
The deputy chairman of the PDK, Kadri Veseli, was elected as the Assembly’s speaker, with 71 votes in favour.
Mustafa’s election as premier was made possible after his party on Monday signed the power-sharing agreement with the PDK, which came first in the June elections.
In 2016, after current President Atifete Jahjaga’s mandate is over, Thaci will replace her, the agreement says.
According to the deal, the two parties will also share out the other ministerial posts.
Addressing MPs in parliament, Mustafa vowed that his main goal would be effective, responsible and competent governance “which will strengthen the trust of citizens and [our] international friends” in Kosovo.
“We are committed to building a state that offers equal rights and opportunities for all its citizens, and a state that tackles organised crime, corruption and any form of extremism,” he said.
“We are also aware of the need to work more for economic development and citizens’ well-being,” he added.
The election of a new administration was a matter of urgency as Kosovo needs to approve a budget for 2015.
The budget review is supposed to take place in the middle of each year, but could not be done because parliament was not functioning due to the political stalemate.
Before reaching their agreement, the PDK and an opposition coalition bloc led by the LDK fought over which party had the right chose the speaker of the assembly. This in turn delayed the establishment of other central institutions.
The opposition coalition agreed after the elections that Mustafa would be the speaker of parliament, with the promise of the presidency once Jahjaga leaves office in 2016.
But a ruling by the Constitutional Court in August wrecked that deal, annulling Mustafa’s election and confirming that the PDK, as the largest single party
in parliament, had a right to the post.
In the aftermath of the court ruling, which effectively allowed PDK to stall the formation of a government indefinitely, the post-election coalition failed to reach a new power-sharing agreement.
Finally the PDK and LDK reached their deal which paved the way for a new government to be established.
More about:
