Kosovo lawmakers elect a new president in a late-night vote to avert snap election

Kosovo's lawmakers have elected economist Justina Shiroka Pula as the new president, narrowly avoiding a snap electionPRISTINA, Kosovo -- Lawmakers in Kosovo elected economist and academic Justina Shiroka Pula as the country’s new president in a marathon late-night session, moments before a constitutional deadline that would have forced a snap election. The election late Tuesday was a significant moment in a political crisis in the small Balkan nation that has caused legislative deadlock for over 19 months and two early parliamentary elections. Just before Shiroka Pula was elected, lawmakers also approved a law limiting the powers of a special court in The Hague, Netherlands, which was set up to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the country's 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia. During the extraordinary session in Parliament, Shiroka Pula secured 81 votes in the 120-seat parliament. Outside, thousands of protesters had gathered demanding that the legislature pass the law limiting the powers of the war crimes court, known as the Specialist Chambers. Shiroka Pula recently served as president of the Academy of Sciences and A...