Reasons why the Constitutional Court set October 6 as the deadline for electing the president

Hasan Shala, a lawyer and former president of the Court of Appeals, described the Constitutional Court’s latest ruling on the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the Government as a “compromise decision.”

In a statement to KosovaPress, Shala stressed that the court made this decision in circumstances he described as constitutional and political chaos, adding that there were not many ways out of this situation.

On September 23, the Constitutional Court assessed that the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of the Government did not violate the Constitution, but it found that the eleventh legislature was established after the expiration of the 30-day deadline set in their previous ruling.

As a result of this finding, the Court announced that the deadline for electing the president began to be calculated from August 8 and ends on October 6.

Furthermore, the Court underlined that the MPs must elect as soon as possible the deputy speaker of the Assembly belonging to the Democratic Party of Kosovo.

According to Shala, the court decided that the deadline for electing the head of state starts from August 8 also because the acting president’s term ends on October 5.

He explained that the six-month period for exercising presidential duties begins to be counted from April 5, when former president Vjosa Osmani’s mandate ended, and ends on October 5, regardless of any changes that may occur in the Assembly’s leadership.

The former president of the Court of Appeals warned that if the Assembly were not considered constituted, the country would face an even greater institutional blockade, since it would not be possible to elect the president or call new elections.

Commenting on the court’s decision, Shala said that we are in a state of deep constitutional and political chaos, which made this kind of compromise decision inevitable. He stressed that the court found that the Assembly was not formed within the deadline set by the Constitution and by itself, but at the same time confirmed that the parliament is constituted and that this Assembly has also formed the Government.

According to him, if the parliament were not recognized as established, then we would have no functioning parliament at all. He clarified that the six-month term of the acting president ends on October 6, so the court gave the parties these two weeks to negotiate an agreement on the post of president. Otherwise, without constitution, elections could not even be called.

Shala stressed that the Constitution is clear when it says that the speaker of the Assembly can exercise the duties of the president for six months. This deadline, according to him, is immutable and is counted from April 5 to October 5, regardless of whether the speaker of the Assembly changes or not.

The Assembly of Kosovo was formed on September 13, on the same day the new Government resulting from the June 7 elections was also approved.

The decision of the Constitutional Court came in response to the requests of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, which contested the constitutionality of the process of constituting the Assembly and forming the new Government.

After the decision was announced, Vetëvendosje Movement, the party leading the executive, announced that it would make maximum efforts to secure the election of the president and to avoid holding early elections.