After the full publication of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the political deadlock, tomorrow starting at 11:00 a.m., the deputies of the Kosovo Assembly will convene to continue the constitutive session.
While the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) has criticized both the ruling and the Constitutional Court itself, the other two main political parties – the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) – believe the ruling paves the way to resolve the political impasse.
The ruling published on Monday by the Constitutional Court states that deputies must elect the Speaker of the Assembly through an open vote. It also specifies that a candidate for the Speaker can be voted on only three times. The Court emphasized that the constitution of the Assembly must be completed within 30 days.
LVV deputy Arbëresha Kryeziu-Hyseni considers that with yesterday’s ruling on the political blockade, the Constitutional Court “has not respected itself,” adding that the Court is acting for political favors.
However, Kryeziu-Hyseni stresses that, like any other decision, LVV will respect this ruling.
“They who have not respected themselves are the Constitutional Court itself, issuing such a decision which requires the procedure to return to open voting, while we should recall that in the past, the Court had stated that both open and secret voting are valid ways to elect the Speaker and constitute the Kosovo Assembly. As Vetëvendosje, we have never failed to respect a court ruling regarding situations in the Assembly; on the contrary, we are the only deputies who have acted based on the Court’s recommendations, and this latest ruling relates to the current situation… I am disappointed that the Constitutional Court acts for political favors to benefit certain political parties, contradicting its previous positions… Vetëvendosje is ready to respond to the country’s need to constitute the Assembly, and we hope that after this imposed pause, opposition deputies – who actually caused the blockade and seem intent on prolonging it – will have reflected on their stance,” she said.
The LVV deputy believes there is no reason to withdraw the party’s proposed candidate for Speaker, Albulena Haxhiu.
“According to the Constitutional Court’s ruling, we will return to the procedure tomorrow in the Assembly. The parliamentary group is expected to meet either later today or tomorrow morning before the session to discuss our next steps… I personally believe there is no reason to withdraw Albulena Haxhiu’s name just because opposition parties in the Assembly request it, and even if we proposed a second candidate, there would likely still be criticism,” she said.
Deputies from the other two main parties, PDK and LDK, will also be present at tomorrow’s continuation of the constitutive session. Representatives of these parties told KosovaPress that the Constitutional Court’s ruling is clear and should be taken into consideration.
PDK deputy Blera Deliu-Kodra said her party’s elected members will attend the session tomorrow, making efforts to resolve the political crisis. She described LVV’s attacks on the Constitutional Court and its ruling as incomprehensible and dangerous for democracy.
“Of course, it is a constitutional obligation for elected deputies to comply; these are clear duties that we will consider… We will act responsibly by coming to the Assembly and making serious efforts to overcome this political deadlock… The attacks, stone-throwing, and attempts to discredit the Constitutional Court’s ruling by LVV are incomprehensible and dangerous for democracy… In the initial sessions when Ms. Haxhiu’s name was put to vote, we voted against it; in six sessions, PDK deputies voted against Ms. Haxhiu. We only abstained when it was proven that not only the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure were violated, but also the Constitution of Kosovo was breached by imposing a vote without agreement,” she said.
The LDK also believes that the Constitutional Court’s ruling leaves no room for misinterpretation and opens the path to resolving the political crisis.
LDK deputy Hykmete Bajrami confirmed to KosovaPress that they will participate in the continuation of the constitutive session tomorrow.
“We have always participated in votes; when voting was prevented, as noted in the Constitutional Court’s ruling, we naturally did not participate… This time, I believe there is no room for misinterpretation. The first ruling was clear, but this time there is absolutely no room for misinterpretation by Vetëvendosje, as happened before. It is extremely clear that the limit of three votes per candidate functions to unblock the situation, as LVV, nor any other party in the future, cannot block institutions based on a candidate’s name. We see this as a clear and good ruling,” Bajrami said.
KosovaPress attempted to get a statement from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, but as of the publication of this article, no response was received.
On Monday, the Constitutional Court published the full ruling on the political deadlock in the country. According to the ruling, the Kosovo Assembly must be constituted within 30 days, and the name of the proposed candidate for Speaker cannot be voted on more than three times.
