Jakaj: Acting president’s term cannot be extended beyond October 5

After October 5, Kosovo’s Presidency could be left without an acting president if the country ends up holding elections, as the six-month term of acting President Albulena Haxhiu will expire at that point. Naim Jakaj, a researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute, said the institutions must find a solution before the deadline, since the Constitution does not provide for an extension of the term.

In an interview with Ekonomia Online, Jakaj said the Assembly should convene as soon as possible to complete its constitution and create the conditions for forming the Government.

According to him, the agreement between the Vetëvendosje Movement and the LDK to nominate Bekim Sejdiu for president would enable the election of the president, the swift constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the Government, even though these developments are taking place outside the constitutional deadlines. However, he stressed that six LDK MPs have said they oppose the agreement, will not vote for it and will not take part in the vote.

Jakaj said Dehari, who is chairing the session, should call for the continuation of the constitutive session as soon as possible so that the Assembly can be constituted and the Government formed without wasting time, while the term of the acting president continues to run in parallel.

He said that if the political deadlock continues, the parties should reach an agreement to hold new elections as soon as possible, without waiting for the 60-day deadline to expire. Jakaj warned that exceeding this deadline would take the country beyond October 5, when the acting president’s six-month term ends.

The KLI researcher stressed that the Constitution does not stipulate that the term of a new Assembly speaker, who could assume the role of acting president, may be extended for another period. For this reason, he called on MPs, parties and political leaders to respect constitutionality and legality, avoiding a situation in which the president’s legitimacy could be challenged after October 5.

Jakaj warned that Albulena Haxhiu, or another Assembly speaker, remaining in the role of acting president after the constitutional term expires could create a chain of unconstitutional institutions. According to him, an acting president serving beyond the term would nominate a prime minister, who would then present a Government, after which an Assembly and another president would be established that would likewise be considered unconstitutional.

He said such a situation would take the country back to square one and show that, because of whims, grudges and primarily electoral ambitions, Kosovo’s institutions had undermined the constitutionality for which the people and citizens of Kosovo have sacrificed so much.

Asked whether the Constitutional Court could issue an interpretation extending the term of Haxhiu, or of an acting Assembly speaker, beyond October 5, Jakaj said such a request could be submitted by Haxhiu herself or by MPs in the Kosovo Assembly.

However, he clarified that this remains a hypothetical situation, as the country has not yet entered such circumstances and it is unclear whether the Constitutional Court would consider it. Jakaj added that the Court has changed its standards on several issues and could also interpret the constitutional provision allowing the Assembly speaker to serve as acting president for six months.

According to him, the Court could find that, due to certain political and legal circumstances, the acting president’s term could be extended beyond the end of the six-month period. However, Jakaj said he currently did not know how the Court could justify such a ruling. As an example, he cited the change in standards regarding the admissibility of minutes in place of Assembly decisions, stressing that this issue should be considered at a later stage.

Kosovo’s Constitution stipulates that if the president is not elected on time or the post remains vacant, the Assembly speaker serves as acting president for a period of no longer than six months, until a new president is elected.

Kosovo’s president is elected by a two-thirds majority in the first two rounds, while 61 votes are required in the third round. For the session to proceed, however, 80 MPs must be present in the chamber.