The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), a junior partner in the ruling coalition led by the Democratic Party of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, announced on Saturday it was pulling out of the government.
"On Monday, October 18, the LDK will withdraw from the governing coalition and the government of Kosovo," LDK leader Fatmir Sejdiu said in a statement without giving a reason. The statement was quoted by German news agency DPA.
The announcement came a day after Parliament Speaker and acting President Jakup Krasniqi scheduled early elections for February 13.
Polls were called some nine months early following Sejdiu's resignation in early October as the president of Kosovo. He was forced to step down after the country's Constitutional court ruled that he violated the law by remaining at the helm of the LDK after he became president.
Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo and the LDK were unable to agree on the new president, who was to be elected by the parliament. The lack of agreement precipitated Krasniqi's call for early elections.
In the 12-member coalition government, LDK had a deputy prime minister and five ministers, including the foreign minister, French news agency AFP said.
