New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo

The New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo (Albanian: Iniciativa e Re Demokrarike e Kosovës, IRDK) is a political party in Kosovo registered on 19 July 2001. It represents the Balkan Egyptian ethnic minority. Its current leader is Elbert Krasniqi, who serves as minister of local government administration in the Republic of Kosovo's coalition government.

New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo Iniciativa e Re Demokrarike e Kosovës
Leader	Elbert Krasniqi
Founded	19 July 2001; 23 years ago (2001-07-19) [date of registration]
Headquarters	Peja, Kosovo
Ideology	Egyptian minority interests Social democracy Third Way
Political position	Centre to centre-left
Assembly	1 / 120
Website
http://irdk-kosova.org/
Politics of Kosovo Political parties Elections

The party was aligned with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) for many years, though more recently it has been associated with Vetëvendosje (VV).

History

The New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo was founded in March 2001 by Emin Sefa, Imer Alijaj, Ibish Bajrami, Bislim Hoti, Avdullah Qafani, and others. Hoti was chosen as the party's first leader.^[1][2]

The IRDK won two seats in the 2001 and 2004 Kosovan parliamentary elections. Its parliamentary delegates in this period were Hoti and Xhevdet Neziraj.^[3][4] Both served in the parliamentary group of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.^[5][6][7][8]

Neziraj succeeded Hoti as party leader in 2007.^[9] In the 2007 Kosovan parliamentary election, the party fell to one seat, which went to Neziraj. He continued to caucus with the AAK in the parliament that followed.^[10]

The IRDK was the only registered party representing Kosovo's Egyptian community until December 2010, when Hoti founded the breakaway League of Egyptians of Kosovo (LEK).^[11][12] In the 2010 Kosovan parliamentary election, Neziraj was elected to a fourth term, while the LEK failed to win any mandates.^[13] Neziraj once again caucused with the AAK after the election.^[14] Hoti, for his part, rejoined the IRDK in 2013.^[15]

The IRDK lost support to the newly formed Egyptian Liberal Party (PLE) in the 2014 parliamentary election and for the first time in its history fell below the electoral threshold for assembly representation. It remained below the threshold in the 2017 parliamentary election. Elbert Krasniqi succeeded Neziraj as party leader in 2017.^[16]

The party won a single mandate in the 2019 parliamentary election, which went to Krasniqi. In November 2019, he joined the parliamentary group of Vetëvendosje.^[17] He was re-elected in the 2021 parliamentary election, in which Vetëvendosje won a landslide victory, and was afterward appointed as a minister in the Republic of Kosovo's coalition government. His assembly seat went to the second-ranked candidate on the IRDK's electoral list, Fridon Lala, who served with the Multiethnic assembly group.^[18]

Electoral performance

Note: Of the four assembly seats reserved for the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, one seat is specifically reserved for the Roma, one for the Ashkali, and one for the Egyptian community. The fourth seat is assigned to the community with the highest overall votes.^[19]

Assembly of Kosovo

Year	Popular vote	% of vote	Overall seats won	RAE seats	+/–	Government
2001	3,976	0.50	2 / 120	2 / 4	2	-
2004	2,658	0.39	2 / 120	2 / 4		-
2007	2,121	0.37	1 / 120	1 / 4	1	-
2010	1,690	0.24	1 / 120	1 / 4		-
2014	1,456	0.20	0 / 120	0 / 4	1	-
2017	1,520	0.21	0 / 120	0 / 4		-
2019	1,755	0.21	1 / 120	1 / 4	1	Government support
2021	3,305	0.38	1 / 120	1 / 4		Coalition

External links

• Official website

References

1. Agata Domachowska, "The Political System of Kosovo," in Political Systems of the Former Yugoslavia, (Berlin: Peter Lang), 2017, p. 171.
2. Rubin Zemon, "History of the Balkan Egyptians", Interculturalism and the Bologna Process, p. 8.
3. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVEND TË REPUBLIKËS SË KOSOVËS 2001 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Kandidatët e zgjedhur sipas Subjekteve Politike), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 12 January 2022.
4. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDIN E KOSOVËS 2004 – Fletëvotimi për Zgjedhjet për Kuvend të Kosovës 2004 (Lista e Kandidatëve për Zgjedhjet për Kuvend të Kosovës 2004), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 January 2022.
5. Periudha e parë Legjislative (17.11.2001 - 23.11.2004) – Bislim Hoti, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
6. Periudha e parë Legjislative (17.11.2001 - 23.11.2004) – Xhevdet Neziraj, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
7. Periudha e dytë Legjislative (23.11.2004 - 12.12.2007) – Bislim Hoti, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
8. Periudha e dytë Legjislative (23.11.2004 - 12.12.2007) – Xhevdet Neziraj, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2004.
9. Rubin Zemon, "History of the Balkan Egyptians", Interculturalism and the Bologna Process, p. 8.
10. Periudha e tretë Legjislative (13.12.2007 - 03.11.2010) – Xhevdet Neziraj, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2004.
11. Rubin Zemon, "History of the Balkan Egyptians", Interculturalism and the Bologna Process, p. 8.
12. Abetarja e Pushtetit, Iniciativa Kosovare për Stabilitet, December 2013, p. 83.
13. ZGJEDHJET E PARAKOHSHME PËR KUVENDIN E REPUBLIKËS SË KOSOVËS 2010 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Rezultatet e të gjithë kandidatëve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, pp. 42, 51; accessed 2 February 2022.
14. Periudha e katërt Legjislative (12.12.2010 - 07.05.2014) – Xhevdet Neziraj, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
15. IRDK Info, New Democratic Initiative for Kosovo, September 2013, p. 4.
16. Elbert Krasniqi, Minister of Local Government Administration, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
17. "IRDK MP Elbert Krasniqi joins the Vetevendosje Parliamentary Group", KOHA, 18 November 2019, accessed 21 March 2024.
18. Fridon Lala, Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024.
19. Zora Popova, "Minority Participation in Kosovo Elections: Opportunities and Challenges", European Centre for Minority Issues, June 2013, p. 4.