Bytyçi on the September 9 session: The opposition aims to bring down Kurti and push VV below 40 percent

Kosovo’s Assembly is expected to convene on September 9 in an effort to conclude its constitutive session and pave the way for the functioning of the new institutions following the June elections. The unfinished session is seen as an important step toward overcoming the political deadlock.

Avni Dehari, who is presiding over the session, has announced that lawmakers will convene on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. The meeting is expected to proceed with the election of the speaker and the new Assembly leadership.

However, the issue of developments following the legislature’s constitution remains open. It is still unclear whether a consensus will be reached on the election of the president and subsequently the government, or whether clashes between the parties will push Kosovo toward new elections.

Professor Enver Bytyçi gave his comments to Bota sot on the political situation and expectations for the September 9 session.

He described the convening of the session as an important development, particularly after weeks of political clashes. According to Bytyçi, the opposition had repeatedly called for the Assembly to convene and become functional.

“Avni Dehari, as the presiding officer of Kosovo’s parliamentary session, has informed lawmakers that on September 9, at 11:00 a.m., they must convene to constitute the institutions. For a long time, we mainly saw lawmakers from the Democratic Party and AAK in the Assembly chamber, protesting against Prime Minister Kurti and accusing him of obstructing the convening of parliament in order to concentrate all power in his own hands. There were even statements that Albin Kurti was the worst thing to happen to Kosovo since the end of the war,” Bytyçi said.

The professor emphasized that lawmakers have already taken their oath and that their mandates are legitimate, but he raised questions about whether the opposition will be present in the chamber during the process of electing the president.

“We will see who will be in the chamber when the president is voted on. Will the opposition lawmakers who spent weeks calling for the formation of the institutions remain there? I have the impression that as soon as Kurti appears in parliament, they may leave. This is because their concern is not related to the existence of Kosovo’s legitimate institutions, but to creating chaos in order to remove Mr. Kurti from the leadership of the government and reduce the percentage of votes he receives in elections,” he said.

According to Bytyçi, the opposition’s objective is to bring Vetëvendosje below 40 percent so that the three opposition parties can unite and form the government.

“Therefore, the aim is for VV to fall below 40 percent. Only in that case could the three opposition parties come together to form the government,” the professor said.

Bytyçi views this strategy as an attempt to politically delegitimize Kurti, accusing the opposition of failing to focus on resolving the institutional deadlock.

“They want to delegitimize Albin Kurti’s government through Bolshevik, Stalinist or Nazi methods. Even if the opposition were to remove Mr. Kurti from power through undemocratic means, I would remain calm, because I know that Albin Kurti, as an opposition leader, has been and will continue to be a nightmare for those seeking to take power with the Serbian agenda offered through Richard Grenell. They do not understand what kind of hell they could experience from his opposition politics. For this reason, I consider them naive in pursuing this strategy,” he said.

Speaking about the possible sequence of actions after September 9, the professor said that the Assembly leadership is expected to be elected first. After that, he said, it will be determined whether the country proceeds with the election of the president or with another electoral process.

“On September 9, the new speaker of parliament, together with the Assembly leadership, is expected to be elected. This process could be completed within the day and in a matter of hours. After that, plenary proceedings cannot continue without consensus being reached on the election of the president of the Republic,” Bytyçi explained.

He added that Kurti, Vetëvendosje and their allies would not accept a government being voted in before the president was elected. According to him, it would make no sense for a new cabinet to be approved and then immediately become a caretaker government because of early elections.

“If the president is not elected, Kosovo will go to elections. In such a situation, there is no reason to vote in a new government cabinet. The normal order is the election of the Assembly leadership, followed by the president and finally the formation of the government. Meanwhile, the creation of parliamentary committees is a simple matter,” he said.

According to Bytyçi, the opposition may demand that the procedure for forming a new government begin immediately after the Assembly leadership is elected. He believes that such a move would be used more for political confrontation and to create the impression that the opposition can impose its will on Kurti.

“The opposition will insist that the formation of the government continue after the election of the Assembly leadership. It will do this as a challenge, to send the message that it can impose itself on Albin Kurti and to build the false image that it is a decision-making factor. It remains to be seen whether it will actually manage to impose itself,” the professor said.

He called the election of the new Assembly leadership essential, especially if the country moves toward new elections. Bytyçi argued that the institutions must have functional leaders during this period.

“The election of the Assembly leadership is essential. If Kosovo goes to elections, the current speaker of parliament will exceed the constitutional term for serving as president. For this reason, a new speaker of the Assembly must be elected, who could once again be Albulena Haxhiu. This leader would continue carrying out the duties of the president of the Republic until the next elections are completed,” Bytyçi said.

Another complicated issue, according to him, is the position of the six LDK lawmakers in the process of electing the president. Bytyçi does not expect an easy compromise, but he does not rule out the possibility that they may remain in the chamber and vote against the candidate.

“I do not believe that the opposition and the six Grenellists in LDK will easily agree to a compromise over the election of the president. These six lawmakers have not stated whether they will remain in the chamber during the final vote on the presidential candidate. They may remain and vote against him. Such an action could be considered a compromise, as they would maintain their position while at the same time enabling Kosovo to have its president. I hope this will be the most credible formula,” the professor said.

In conclusion, Enver Bytyçi also spoke about developments within the Democratic League of Kosovo, where deep divisions have recently emerged over the formation of the institutions and the election of the president.

“There appears to be a major split within the Democratic League. If this conflict were simply the result of different or opposing principles between the sides, the situation would be understandable. But it has become clear that Ambassador Grenell has intervened in and influenced this conflict. This makes the situation even more complicated,” Enver Bytyçi told Bota sot.