CEC certifies election results in Kosovo, paving the way for the formation of new institutions

The Central Election Commission (CEC) certified the results of the February 9 parliamentary elections on Thursday, thus paving the way for the formation of Kosovo's new institutions.

At a meeting on Thursday afternoon in Pristina, the CEC approved the certification of the final election results with 9 votes in favor and 2 against.

The two members of the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) in the CEC, Sami Kurteshi and Alban Krasniqi, opposed the certification of the elections at this time, as their party has requested the cancellation of postal votes and a postal re-voting, despite the Supreme Court rejecting its request.

"We will follow the legal channels and will also send it to the Constitutional Court for a temporary measure for the non-implementation of this part of the votes, therefore... until all legal channels are exhausted, the certification of the results cannot be voted on," said Kurteshi.

The LVV won the February 9 elections with 42.30 percent of the vote, leaving behind the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 20.95 percent and the Democratic League of Kosovo with 18.27 percent.

In fourth place is the coalition between the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Social Democratic Initiative with 7.06 percent.

The Serbian List – the largest Serb party in Kosovo – secured 4.26 percent of the vote.

Three mayors – including the PDK candidate for prime minister in these elections, Bedri Hamza – gave up their mandate as MPs because, according to the laws and the Constitution, they do not have the right to hold two official positions.

The Mayor of Peja, Gazmend Muhaxheri, resigned from his mandate as an MP and will be replaced by Arben Gashi. The Mayor of Lipjan, Imri Ahmeti, will be replaced by Paris Guri, while the Mayor of South Mitrovica, Bedri Hamza, will be replaced by Rashit Qalaj.

The procedures for the formation of new institutions are provided for in the Constitution and other laws, as the following text explains.

The constitution of the new Assembly of Kosovo

Immediately after the certification of the election results, the first step is the constitution of the new parliamentary composition and then the formation of the new Government.

According to the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, after the certification of the election results, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, must convene the constitutive session of the Assembly within 30 days.

During this session, the new deputies take the oath and then elect the chairmen and deputy chairmen./ REL