LDK addresses the Constitutional Court for the continuation of the constitutive session after the verdict

The Democratic League of Kosovo has asked the Constitutional Court to clarify the constitutional norms and rules of procedure of the Assembly of Kosovo regarding the continuation of the constitutive session from June 29, following a verdict by the country's highest court.

The LDK – which came third in the parliamentary elections – believes that the recent extensions of the constitutive session were made “in complete contradiction” with the Constitution of Kosovo and the findings of the Constitutional Court’s June 26 ruling.

Speaking to journalists after submitting the case to the Constitutional Court, Shkëm Manaj said that the chair of the constitutive session should conduct the session in accordance with the agenda, not requiring a secret ballot for the appointment of the Speaker of the Assembly.

"There is no political will that can change the agenda of the constitutive session because this is determined by the rules of procedure of the Assembly and the Constitutional Court has assessed that this act is subject to a constitutional review," said Manaj.

LDK is the second party, after the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), to address the Constitutional Court regarding the continuation of the constitutive session following the Constitutional Court's ruling from June 26, which, among other things, ordered the deputies to convene the Assembly within 30 days.

The Constitutional Court has 60 days to respond to the LDK's request, but Manaj said he hopes she will respond before July 26 - which is the deadline set by the country's highest court for the constitution of the Assembly.

The chairman of the constitutive session, Avni Dehari – who comes from the winning party Lëvizja Vetëvendosje – requested the creation of a commission for a secret ballot for the speaker of parliament, after the LVV candidate did not receive the necessary 61 votes in several attempts at open voting.

The largest opposition parties, PDK, LDK, and AAK, oppose this method of voting and argue that the Constitutional Court's ruling does not allow such a thing and are demanding open voting.

LVV insists that the verdict allows this type of voting and does not give up.

Disagreements over the voting method have stalled the process of constituting the Assembly even four months after the elections were held.

So far, MPs have met a total of 41 times in an attempt to constitute the Assembly, but each of their attempts has lasted no more than approximately three minutes.

Earlier in the day, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said that her legal team has concluded that the Constitutional Court's ruling does not rule out the possibility of a secret ballot for the Speaker of the Assembly, but added that this requires the consent of all MPs in advance.

Professor Kadri Kryeziu, former vice president of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, told Radio Free Europe on Friday that the main problem of the unconstitutionality is political and not constitutional.

He stressed that all parties bear responsibility, but most of all the winning party in the parliamentary elections – the Vetevendosje Movement. According to him, if the Assembly is not constituted within 20 days, the country will go to extraordinary elections.REL