The Constitutional Court of Kosovo is reviewing with priority the request for assessing the constitutionality of changing the voting method for electing the Speaker of the Assembly during the constitutive procedure. However, the country’s highest legal authority has not indicated when it will issue a ruling on this matter, even though more than a month has passed since MP Time Kadrijaj from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, supported by several other MPs, submitted the request to the Court.
Regardless of the possible decision by the Constitutional Court in this case, political analysts remain skeptical that it will resolve the current political crisis in the country.
A day before the Assembly convenes for the 36th time in the ongoing constitutive session, the need is being emphasized for a political agreement to be reached on electing the Assembly’s leadership and forming a new government following the February 9 parliamentary elections.
In this regard, another possible option being considered is a request from the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, to the Constitutional Court, asking for clarification on whether the party that won the elections can continue to nominate a candidate for Assembly Speaker, even if it does not have the required number of votes in the Assembly.
The Secretary General of the Constitutional Court, Veton Dula, told KosovaPress in a written response that a decision will be made after reviewing all constitutional aspects of the matter raised by the ten MPs who submitted the request on May 12.
“This request is being reviewed with priority by the Court. A decision will be made after the Court has examined all the constitutional aspects of the issue presented in the request, and all interested parties and the public will be informed of the decision in due time,” Dula stated.
Meanwhile, political science professor Dritëro Arifi believes that the request for interpretation of the secret ballot will not bring a substantial solution to the political deadlock.
According to him, the issue does not lie solely with the voting procedure but with the lack of a political agreement that would allow the institutions to function normally.
“The request as it has been made will not solve many problems. The request is specific — whether it can be done or not. Even if the Constitutional Court rules that the voting is not in line with Assembly procedures, we return to square one and there is no real solution. A solution would be if the first party can block the process indefinitely by insisting on a name until it gets voted. If the leading party doesn’t resolve the issue, what can be done? There are several elements that cannot be resolved simply with a question about secret voting. I don’t expect any meaningful solution. If there is no political agreement, whatever decision the Constitutional Court makes won’t solve the political problem,” he said.
Arifi called on President Osmani to submit a question to the Constitutional Court asking how many times the winning party has the right to propose a candidate for Assembly Speaker in the event they fail to secure the necessary 61 votes.
“The President is late with her request to the Constitutional Court because this is not about secret voting, but about the procedure and whether there should be a limit for the leading party. It makes no legal sense not to have restrictions. We can’t continue indefinitely with the leading party keeping that position hostage. That is illogical, non-functional, and impractical,” Arifi added.
Five months after the elections, the Assembly has still not been constituted. The Vetëvendosje Movement, which won the elections, has failed to secure the 61 necessary votes to elect Albulena Haxhiu as Speaker of the Assembly.
Since May 1, Vetëvendosje has insisted that its candidate for Assembly Speaker, Albulena Haxhiu, should be voted on via secret ballot, after she failed six times to be elected through an open vote.
