Vjosa Osmani is new president of Kosovo

Vjosa Osmani, 38, is the new president of Kosovo after she was elected head of state on Sunday by the parliament in Pristina on the proposal of Prime Minister Albin Kurti's ruling Vetevendosje party.

She received 71 votes, giving her a majority in the 120-seat parliament. A total of 82 members of parliament (MPs) were present, and 11 cast invalid votes.

The office had become vacant in November 2020 after Hashim Thaci resigned over an indictment by the Kosovo Special Tribunal.

Thaci is facing charges at the court in The Hague for alleged war crimes in the Kosovo Albanians' 1998-99 war of independence against Serbia.

Osmani had taken over Thaci's office provisionally after his resignation in her then capacity as speaker of parliament.

The new president was deputy leader of the then ruling and now opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) until June 2020.

Osmani was ousted after disputes within her own party.

In the parliamentary election in February this year, she stood on the list of Kurti's leftist reform Party.