Eight days have passed since the Central Election Commission officially announced the winners of the June 7 elections, and civil society representatives are calling for no further delay in convening the constitutive session of the Kosovo Assembly. However, the Presidency’s Office believes that parliamentary parties should be given adequate time to hold talks and secure a political agreement on establishing the new institutions, including the selection of the head of state. Under constitutional provisions, the session to establish the new legislature must be held within 30 days of the certification of the election results, meaning that the latest possible date is August 7.
These calls for the Assembly’s constitution come at a time when, during the past week, Vetëvendosje Movement leader Albin Kurti held separate meetings with Bedri Hamza of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and Lumir Abdixhiku of the Democratic League of Kosovo, in an effort to resolve the deadlock. However, no tangible agreement was announced following these consultations.
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The office of acting President Albulena Haxhiu told KosovaPress that she is carrying out her responsibilities in accordance with the powers and deadlines set out in the Constitution, with the aim of ensuring that the next Assembly is formed with a real prospect of establishing institutions and avoiding another deadlock. “Acting President Haxhiu will convene the constitutive session of the Assembly within the deadline set by the Constitution. The Constitution stipulates that the constitutive session of the Assembly is convened by the President within 30 days of the official announcement of election results. In this case, this deadline expires on August 7. Given that the deadline for electing the President is 60 days and begins on the day the Assembly is constituted, Acting President Haxhiu believes that political parties should be given the necessary time and space for talks and to reach the agreement the country needs for the election of the president. The Acting President is acting within constitutional powers and deadlines, seeking for the new Assembly to be constituted with a real prospect of creating institutions and avoiding another deadlock,” the official statement said.
Although political dialogue over the future government continues, Vullnet Bugaqku, a researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute, believes that there is no longer any reason to postpone setting a date for the session. He added that discussions among parties, even if ongoing, should not become an obstacle to establishing the Assembly, and that party leaders should be more open about their willingness to reach an agreement.
“She should no longer drag this out or delay setting a date for holding the constitutive session of the Kosovo Parliament. We believe there is now no reason to cause such a delay or not to convene such a session. As for the political discussions that are taking place or have taken place, this falls within the political sphere, and the leaders of political parties should show and be more transparent about whether or not they have the political will to reach a political agreement on the formation of institutions. I understand that the delay in setting the date may be somewhat linked to discussions among the largest parliamentary parties regarding reaching a package agreement on the formation of institutions. However, we have no time to lose as a state, and citizens need the Assembly to be constituted so that procedures can begin for the election of the Government and then the election of the president, in order to ensure the full functioning of Kosovo’s institutions,” Bugaqku said.
On the other hand, Naim Jakaj, an expert at the Kosovo Law Institute, sees justification for a possible postponement only if the time is used for uninterrupted and substantive consultations among political forces. In the absence of such concrete meetings, he said, delaying the session has no basis. Jakaj further added that, given the need for a broad agreement on the post of president, it would be logical for a comprehensive deal to be reached during this 30-day period, so that after the Assembly is constituted, the formation of the executive and the election of the president can proceed without obstacles.
“A delay to the constitutive session would be justified only if Mr Kurti, as the leader of the largest party that won the most recent elections, were to invite political parties for consultations every one or two days. Under this reasoning, postponing the constitutive session could be justified. In the case where there are no meetings or requests from Mr Kurti himself, as the leading party, then this delay in convening the constitutive session cannot be justified. Since we know the statements of political parties, particularly opposition parties, that a comprehensive political agreement is required for the election of the president, then there should be no rush to constitute the Assembly, but rather the 30-day deadline should be allowed to run so that we have a political agreement between LVV and LDK or between LVV and PDK and AAK, so that it is known with certainty that when we proceed with constituting the Assembly, the government will be formed and the president voted for on the same day,” Jakaj stated.
On July 10, LVV leader and current acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti met separately with PDK’s Bedri Hamza and LDK’s Lumir Abdixhiku to discuss the establishment of new institutions. Although no agreement was reached following these meetings, Kurti announced that talks would resume in the coming days. The consultations took place one day after the CEC certified the final results on July 8. According to those results, the Vetëvendosje Movement leads with 47.13% of the vote, securing 53 seats in the Assembly. PDK ranks second with 19.44% and 22 MPs, followed by LDK with 16.69% and 18 seats, and AAK with 6.74%, which translates into seven MPs. The remaining 20 seats belong to non-majority communities.
