KDI: Failure to Constitute the Assembly Within the 30-Day Deadline Raises Constitutional Questions About the Next Steps

The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) has described the situation surrounding the constitution of the Assembly as absurd and unacceptable.

According to the institute, the expiry of the mandatory 30-day deadline found the Assembly still unconstituted.

“LVV failed to exercise, within this deadline, its exclusive right and responsibility to propose a candidate for Speaker. Even after the deadline expired, it once again refused to put forward a candidate and requested additional time, knowingly prolonging the institutional deadlock,” KDI said in its assessment.

KDI stresses that recent developments can no longer be treated merely as a political clash between parliamentary entities.

“The expiry of the deadline without the constitution of the Assembly has raised a direct constitutional issue concerning the validity of the procedure that must be followed from this point onward. The late submission of a candidacy, another 48-hour interruption or a possible political agreement do not, in themselves, erase the consequences of failing to act within the deadline.”

According to the institute, the consequences of this situation cannot be determined unilaterally by any political entity, nor can they be resolved by creating a fait accompli.

“Determining them falls within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, which is the final authority for interpreting the Constitution.”

KDI calls on at least 10 members of parliament to urgently refer the matter to the Constitutional Court, citing the decisions and actions taken after the deadline expired. The institute proposes that the Court provide answers to several fundamental questions:

– whether failing to exercise the right to propose a candidate within the deadline has ended the mandate of this Assembly to complete the constitution process;

– what legal value the actions taken after the expiry of the deadline have;

– and which constitutional procedure should be followed going forward, including the possibility of opening the way to new elections.

“Kosovo needs institutions established on the basis of a constitutional solution, not through political improvisation, so that every further action is grounded in the Constitution and does not create dangerous precedents for the functioning of the institutions of the Republic.”