The certification of the final results of the December 28 elections has paved the way for the convening of the constitutive session of the Assembly of Kosovo. According to legal deadlines, the country’s president, Vjosa Osmani, is obliged to convene the constitutive session within 30 days of the certification of the election results.
Once the constitutive session is scheduled, monitors of the Assembly’s work say that the previous Assembly Presidency must meet to agree on the smooth conduct of the session and the method for electing the Speaker of the Assembly and the deputy speakers. They note that this is the moment when a decision must be made on whether the Speaker should be elected by open or secret vote.
Researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), Eugen Cakolli, told KosovaPress that following the certification of results, President Osmani must ensure that the constitutive session is scheduled about five days in advance, so that the previous Assembly Presidency, through the speaker of the previous legislature, can convene representatives of the parliamentary parties that have won mandates and prepare the agenda of the session.
“The President of the country has a legal obligation to convene the constitutive meeting of the Assembly, which must be held within the 30-day deadline from the certification of results. This means that from the day of certification there are thirty days in total during which all procedures must be carried out, including holding the preparatory meeting, holding the constitutive session, and concluding it in accordance with last year’s court ruling. This means that the President will convene the constitutive session and must ensure that there are approximately five days of advance notice from the moment it is scheduled, so that the previous Presidency, Mr. Basha, in his capacity as speaker of the previous legislature, can convene representatives of the parliamentary parties that have won mandates and prepare the agenda,” he said.
Meanwhile, researcher at the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), Naim Jakaj, assesses that the agenda of the constitutive session is standardized and should not be subject to political interpretations.
According to him, any attempt to move to a secret vote for the election of the Speaker of the Assembly requires prior agreement, but does not constitute a preferred practice.
Jakaj emphasizes that transparency in voting should remain a fundamental principle of the functioning of the Assembly, adding that procedural points such as verification of quorum, verification of mandates, and the election of the Speaker and deputy speakers should not turn into sources of constitutional or legal disputes.
“The agenda is standard and should not deviate from previous practices. If it were necessary to proceed with a secret vote, there must be agreement at that meeting regarding the Speaker of the Assembly. We at IKD do not prefer agreement among political parties to proceed with a secret voting process. The standard must be preserved as sacred, because deputies must vote transparently for a Speaker who will lead them in sessions and represent the Assembly outside the Republic of Kosovo. Therefore, the standard points stemming from verification of quorum and mandates, and the voting of the Speaker and deputy speakers, should not become a problem or an issue of constitutional or legal contestation,” he stressed.
The Central Election Commission certified the final results on February 9. KosovaPress has also contacted the Information Office of the Assembly of Kosovo regarding when the Presidency meeting will be convened, but they said that the public will be informed in a timely manner of any developments. Meanwhile, the Office of the President has not indicated when the constitutive session of the Assembly will be convened.
