Kosovo is heading for another snap election after parliament failed to elect a new president on Tuesday, plunging Europe's newest country back into a political crisis.
Parliament had until midnight Tuesday to elect a head of state after President Vjosa Osmani's mandate ended in early April, but Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to secure the support of opposition parties to vote for his candidate.
Two-thirds of the 120-seat parliament must be present for the vote to be valid. Failure to elect a new president triggers early parliamentary elections.
"Based on the (Constitutional Court) verdict, parliament is considered dissolved," said the speaker of parliament and acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, at midnight.
Haxhiu is expected to announce the election date soon. This would be the third vote in just over a year.
The move prolongs the political deadlock in Kosovo, which has aspirations to join the European Union. The Balkan country has been without a functioning government for much of last year after a fragmented parliament failed for months to elect a speaker, jeopardizing much-needed international funding.
A convincing election victory for Kurti's Vetëvendosje party in December seemed to end more than a year of political deadlock.
Electing a president, even when he lacks significant political powers, has always proven challenging, as two-thirds of the deputies must participate in the voting session, a requirement that makes it easy to disrupt the process.
