Constitution fails again, Kosovo still without a new Assembly

Kosovo continues to be without a functional Assembly, as MPs have failed again – in their thirteenth attempt – to constitute a new Assembly.

The latest failure occurred on Friday, exactly three months after parliamentary elections were held on February 9th.

As in the sessions of the past few days, on Friday the chairman of the constitutive session, Avni Dehari, again requested the formation of a commission to oversee the secret ballot for the speaker of parliament.

The proposal did not receive enough votes and the session was adjourned to continue two days later, on Sunday morning.

Successive failures to constitute a new Assembly have deepened the country's political impasse, raising concerns about institutional paralysis and are seen as a test of Kosovo's state maturity.

No party won a majority to govern alone. The Vetevendosje Movement came out on top, winning 48 seats, 13 short of the minimum 61 needed to form a new government alone.

Although dozens of sessions have been called to constitute the Assembly, political divisions have continuously hindered this process.

Vetëvendosje is failing to secure the 61 votes needed to elect Albulena Haxhiu to the position of Speaker of the Assembly.

Haxhiu is seen by the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) as a "divisive figure," while the Democratic League of Kosovo says it will not support any Vetëvendosje candidate for speaker of parliament.

Vetëvendosje insists that Haxhiu deserves to be elected and, although it has sought political agreements with other parties, has ruled out the possibility of bringing forward another candidate besides itself.

After Haxhiu's successive failures to obtain the necessary votes during the open vote, the chairman in recent sessions has attempted to bring about a secret vote, and for this, AAK said it will address the Constitutional Court, saying that secret voting is a violation.

Despite some recent moves to break the deadlock, there is no agreement between parliamentary parties.

LDK, which came in third, winning 20 seats, has rejected Vetëvendosje's offer for a governing coalition.

Instead, LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku has called for the formation of a transitional government among parliamentary parties until the country's president is appointed, i.e. in April 2026, when the current president Vjosa Osmani's term ends.

While Vetëvendosje has immediately opposed the idea of ​​such a government, other parliamentary parties have expressed willingness to talk.

Gëzim Visoka, professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Dublin in Ireland, told Radio Free Europe that the current crisis and political paralysis created in Kosovo should serve as an incentive to rethink and rebuild political culture.

He emphasized that this is a test of Kosovo's maturity as a state, and of its ability to change governments and powers without international intervention or supervision.

"It is paradoxical that the current parties have called for Kosovo's independence from international supervision, but are now having difficulty making it functional and self-sustaining," Visoka said.

Meanwhile, President Vjosa Osmani has expressed her willingness to help break the political deadlock.

Her advisor, Bekim Kupina, said on Thursday that the presidential cabinet will soon contact political parties to see what the appropriate time is for a meeting with the leaders of the political entities.

The deputies must elect the president and five vice presidents to finally constitute the new Assembly.

Only after the constitution of the Assembly can the new Government be formed.