Unblocking the political crisis, awaiting the decision of the Constitutional Court

Eyes and ears are turned to the Constitutional Court for a solution to the political crisis in Kosovo. The highest legal institution in the country is seen as the light at the end of the tunnel to pave the way for the constitution of the Assembly, following the parliamentary elections on February 9.

Political parties declare that they are awaiting a decision from the Constitutional Court regarding the assessment of the constitutionality of the decision on the secret ballot of the Speaker of the Assembly.

After 24 consecutive failures to elect the Assembly bodies, civil society says that a swift ruling by the Constitutional Court on this issue could pave the way for the constitution of the Assembly and the formation of a new government.

However, the Constitutional Court says they are still reviewing the case, which was submitted by ten deputies from AAK, PDK, and LDK on May 12. 

The Assembly has not been constituted even four months after the elections. The Vetevendosje Movement, as the first party in the elections, has not managed to secure the 61 votes needed to elect Albulena Haxhiu as Speaker of the Assembly.

Since May 1, the Vetëvendosje Movement has been insisting that the vote for its candidate for Speaker of the Parliament, Albulena Haxhiu, be held by secret ballot, as she has failed to be elected to this position through open voting six times.

The MP of the Vetëvendosje-Guxo-Alternativa coalition, Jeta Statovci, tells KosovaPress that a secret ballot for the speaker of parliament would only strengthen democracy.

Therefore, according to her, it is urgent that the Constitutional Court makes a decision as soon as possible.

"Some political parties have made a deal to make destructiveness and the impossibility of creating institutions a political strategy. These parties have taken these positions from the top down, which means that some people have imposed their authority within them and are putting pressure on MPs, even some members of minorities, not to follow their free will as MPs, but to submit to their destructive strategy. To get out of this situation, secret voting would strengthen the democracy of the Parliament and the freedom of the MP," she said in a written response to KosovaPress.

Statovci emphasizes that it is important that we have a clarification from the Constitutional Court about this situation as soon as possible, in order to move forward after the refusal to cooperate that has led to the blockade.

"The Assembly has 120 members of parliament and they should be accountable only to voters and the Constitution, not to the resentments of leaders and narrow interest groups," she says.

PDK MP Ferat Shala is also optimistic that the Constitutional Court can provide direction to the blockade in the Assembly, adding that as a party they will respect any decision it makes.

"We expect the Constitutional Court, in an optimal timeframe, to clarify all the issues we have raised in the request sent as political entities. We would like the Constitutional Court – and I believe it will happen – to provide a clear and complete orientation on the violations that have occurred and are occurring in the repeated sessions of the Assembly of Kosovo. Under any circumstances, we as PDK and as deputies have not contested and do not contest the decisions of the Court", emphasizes Shala.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court has informed KosovaPress that it is in the process of reviewing AAK's request. 

"This request is being reviewed. All interested parties and the public will be notified in due time of the Court's decision. Regarding the aforementioned request, the Court, within the specified deadline, has received comments from: (i) the applicants; (ii) Abelard Tahiri, MP of the Democratic Party of Kosovo; and (iii) Saranda Bogujevci, MP of the Vetëvendosje Movement," states a written response from the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court, Veton Dula.

The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) expresses skepticism about a quick decision by the Court regarding the situation in the Assembly.

Researcher Vullnet Bugaqku says that, to make a decision, the Court has 60 days from the moment the request is submitted and that, in addition to the comments, it is also expected to address the assessment of the Venice Commission.

"The Constitutional Court, at the moment it accepts the request in question, according to the Rules of Procedure, has a deadline of sixty days to issue a judgment on the case in question. Since more than two weeks have passed since the submission of the request, I do not expect the court to issue a decision within a very short period of time. Procedurally, in addition to receiving comments, the Court will also review and address the assessments of the Venice Commission. I believe that they will seek the opinion of this Commission on the issue of the secret ballot procedure during a constitutive session. The Court may consult and review the parliamentary practices of the European Union states and may also take similar decisions of other Constitutional Courts as a basis," he says.

The Kosovo Assembly has failed to be constituted 24 times in a row, while the current impasse remains over the formation of the Committee for the secret ballot of the Speaker of Parliament. /KP/