Kosovo police fired tear gas outside the parliament building in Pristina on the evening of October 5 as protesters gathered around the building to prevent MPs from leaving, demanding a second vote on amendments to the law governing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. 

The protesters said they would not allow MPs to leave until the amendments are approved in a second reading, Koha.net reported. The changes were approved in a first reading earlier on October 5, but require a further parliamentary vote before they can become law.

The confrontation followed a meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Bedri Hamza, which ended without an agreement on holding another parliamentary session.

According to PDK, Kurti conditioned the second vote on the election of Kosovo’s president. The deadline for electing a president is October 6, adding urgency to the political standoff.

After the meeting failed, MPs from Kurti’s Vetëvendosje movement left the parliament building through the government exit, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters. PDK MPs remained inside the building.

PDK MP Arian Tahiri called on all MPs to return to parliament and vote on the amendments before the legislature is dissolved.

“It is the national obligation and responsibility of every political force and every member of the Assembly of Kosovo” to return and approve the law, Tahiri said.

PDK deputy speaker Vlora Çitaku said her party wanted the amendments approved without conditions, arguing that the law and the presidential election were separate issues.

“We demand that the Law be approved without any conditions. They are separate processes,” Çitaku said, accusing Vetëvendosje of political and national irresponsibility for linking the two votes.

The dispute follows parliament’s approval in the first reading of major amendments to the law governing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, the Hague-based court established to prosecute crimes allegedly committed during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

The proposed amendment would prevent the court from imposing prison sentences exceeding 15 years. However, the changes still need to pass parliamentary committee review and receive approval in a second reading to take effect.

The vote came after the Specialist Chambers convicted former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, putting renewed political focus on the court and the treatment of former KLA figures.

With the presidential deadline approaching, the dispute over the law has now become intertwined with Kosovo’s broader political crisis, with the possibility of parliament being dissolved if a president is not elected.