The 29th attempt to constitute the Kosovo Assembly fails

Kosovo Assembly members failed again on Monday to form a new parliamentary composition. They have met 29 times so far in an attempt to form the Assembly after the February 9 elections.

As in previous extensions of the constitutive session, which began on April 15, the scenario was the same: the session lasted a few minutes, and continued after 48 hours - in this case the next one will be on June 11.

The issue has stalled over the appointment of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Assembly.

A day before the session on Monday, the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, reiterated his call for other parliamentary parties to establish a unity government.

"I continue to believe that we can sit down, talk and agree on a common solution. This crisis can serve as an opportunity for us," Abdixhiku wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

He announced that he will announce a 15-point agenda this week, "a concrete platform of cooperation for the Unity Government, which I will offer to all political parties, without exception."

But, Albulena Haxhiu from LVV, after the session, said that for this party, the transitional government is unacceptable.

"The citizens of the Republic of Kosovo have had their say in the elections. Prime Minister Kurti is the most voted leader ever and LVV is today the first subject with the most votes in the country. Therefore, such proposals tend to minimize the will of the people, to violate it, and of course they do not have the support of the Vetevendosje Movement. They say 'transition government', but we have a transition government at the moment," said Haxhiu.

This is the 21st time that the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Serbian List have not proposed a single member to form a commission for a secret ballot for the Vetëvendosje Movement's candidate, Albulena Haxhiu, for Speaker of the Assembly, as Haxhiu has failed to obtain the necessary 61 votes in an open vote.

The Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV), as the winner of the elections, is responsible for proposing a candidate for Speaker of the Assembly, and it has consistently insisted that Haxhiu is the right figure, although for other parties she is unacceptable and considered a divisive figure.

The issue of changing the voting method – from open to secret – has been sent for interpretation to the Constitutional Court by parties that were in opposition in the previous legislature.

According to them, the LVV's proposals are unconstitutional and they have requested the Court to impose "a temporary measure to prohibit the holding of hearings, until it addresses this case as a priority and makes a decision."

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.

Representatives of the Vetëvendosje Movement have recently mentioned the possibility of holding new early parliamentary elections simultaneously with the regular local elections, which are expected to be announced in October, as a possibility to unblock the situation.

Albulena Haxhiu of the Vetevendosje Movement first presented this idea at a meeting that Osmani held last week with figures from political entities in Kosovo, to discuss the date of local elections.

However, Abelard Tahiri, from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, said last week that he believes the elections should be held separately.

According to him, if new parliamentary elections are to be held, this should happen earlier, not in October when regular local elections are held.

Arben Gashi, from the Democratic League of Kosovo, stated on Thursday that “it may happen that we come to a situation where new elections will be a solution”, although it would be “very complicated for the Central Election Commission to organize them together (with the local ones)”.

Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, reiterated on June 5 that the delay in the constitution of the Assembly harms the credibility of the institutions and the country's progress towards the Euro-Atlantic agenda.

Diplomatic representatives of the QUINT countries [United States, Great Britain, Italy, France and Germany] as well as the Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, met a few days ago with the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, requesting the rapid formation of institutions to ensure the well-being and prosperity of the citizens of Kosovo./ REL