Ismet Beqiri

But, two days before the congress opened, the LDK Secretary General, Ismet Beqiri, has admitted that Mustafa may stay on - and that there are a number of other interested contenders.

"It is no secret, there are candidates," he told TV Dukagjini on Thursday. "This should be seen as normal. Our aim is for the new LDK team to win the upcoming parliamentary elections," Beqiri added.

In a bid to repeat the success it had in the June general elections, when it came in second place, Kosovo's opposition Vetevendosje movement has announced the names of its mayoral candidates for several towns in the October local elections.

Initiated by the opposition Initiative for Kosovo, Nisma, Kosovo opposition parties are trying to attract MPs from all parties to support a new no-confidence motion in Isa Mustafa's coalition government.

MPs from the ruling coalition of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, convoked an extraordinary session of parliament to discuss the death of opposition activist Astrit Dehari - having earlier refused to discuss the matter on the grounds that they were awaiting the official forensic report.

Opposition MPs hurled eggs towards Kosovo's Prime Minister, Isa Mustafa, while he was addressing parliament on the latest agreement reached between Pristina and Belgrade on August 25.

MPs from the nationalist Self-determination movement erupted during the Prime Minister's speech when he said that the recent agreement complied with Kosovo's constitution.

The Kosovo Democratic League and the ‘Vetevendosje’ Movement, both opposition parties, said on Monday that they would not be held to ransom by Serb MPs who have threatened to abstain in a crucial vote next week on constitutional changes to establish a Kosovo army if they don’t get agreement on future minority representation.