Constituting the Assembly amid a missed deadline and the risk of new elections

The session to constitute the Assembly of Kosovo will continue on Wednesday, 09.09, following repeated adjournments caused by the lack of a political agreement on the election of the new President. The legal deadline for completing the constitution of the Assembly expired a month ago, and opposition parties consider the situation a violation of the Constitution of Kosovo.

According to a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court, the Assembly should have been constituted within 30 days of the certification of the results of the June elections. That deadline expired on August 7. Nevertheless, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have announced that they will attend the session, while the Alliance has yet to make a decision.

PDK leader Bedri Hamza has linked his party’s participation to the judgment expected to be delivered in The Hague on September 16 against former KLA leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. According to him, the country should approach that date with a constituted Assembly.

Hamza accuses Vetëvendosje of exceeding the constitutional deadline by scheduling the session beyond the prescribed period. However, he emphasizes that the PDK’s participation does not amount to an acknowledgment that this violation is acceptable.

Hamza: The constitutional deadline has been violated

“All the actions we are taking these days are also connected to September 16. We are convinced that, at this time, Kosovo needs to have a constituted Assembly,” Hamza said. He added that the PDK bears no responsibility for the failure to constitute the Assembly so far because, according to him, the party’s MPs have been in the Assembly every 48 hours and have called on Albin Kurti to respect the Constitution and the law.

The LDK has also announced that it will participate in the next session. The party sees its presence as the only way to make the institutions functional and provide legal clarity regarding the situation.

“Kosovo is at an important stage in establishing its institutions and ensuring that they function. Therefore, we have called for the Assembly to be constituted as soon as possible and for the institutions to regain their functionality,” said LDK deputy leader Jehona Lushaku.

Experts on political developments consider the missed deadline for constituting the Assembly a violation of the Constitution. Eugen Cakolli of the Kosovo Democratic Institute, an organization that monitors elections and parliamentary work, said that convening the session after the deadline had expired constituted an open violation of the Constitution.

Cakolli: The deadline cannot be disregarded

“How can a session be convened and attended outside every constitutional deadline without first asking the Constitutional Court to determine the legal consequences of violating the deadline, especially when the session will be held more than a month after the expiration of the very clear deadline for constituting the Assembly set by the Court’s ruling?” Cakolli wrote. He said that such an approach creates a precedent under which any constitutional deadline that does not clearly provide for a consequence can be exceeded without anyone being held accountable.

The most recent session to constitute the Assembly was held on August 12. The process began on August 6, when the MPs elected in the June elections took the oath of office. The session was then adjourned at the request of acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who sought additional time to reach a political agreement on the President.

Following the election of the speaker and the Assembly leadership, the constitution of the Assembly would pave the way for the formation of a new government and the election of the President. Electing the head of state requires a two-thirds majority in the 120-seat Assembly. Kurti had requested a postponement because it was uncertain whether these votes could be secured.

A political agreement has still not been reached

Once the Assembly is constituted, it remains unclear whether the procedure to form a government and elect the President will begin immediately. Albin Kurti, in his capacity as leader of Vetëvendosje, had reached an agreement with LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku to support a consensus candidate for President.

However, six LDK MPs publicly opposed the candidacy of former Constitutional Court judge Bekim Sejdiu. As a result, securing the 80 votes needed for his election now appears impossible. The PDK and the Alliance have also said that they will not support Sejdiu and will remain in opposition during this term.

Following the end of President Vjosa Osmani’s term, Albulena Haxhiu, the former speaker of the Assembly, has been serving as acting head of state. Her six-month term as acting President ends on October 4. The Constitution of Kosovo does not specify what happens after that deadline expires.

Officials from the Presidency of Kosovo have said that Haxhiu will hand over the acting role to the new speaker of the Assembly, who is expected to be elected after the institution is constituted. Legal experts, however, say that such a transfer of duties is not provided for anywhere.

Failure to elect the President could lead to new elections

Even if the Assembly is constituted and a new government is formed, failure to elect the President would once again send Kosovo to early elections. So far, Bekim Sejdiu’s candidacy has secured only 74 votes out of 120 MPs. This is insufficient because at least 80 votes are required in the first two rounds.

For the second time this year and the third time in less than two years, Kosovo is facing an attempt to establish stable institutions following repeated parliamentary elections. The early elections of June 8 were held after the Assembly failed to elect a new President. The same scenario could be repeated if the President is not elected within 60 days of the constitution of the Assembly. / DW