The Central Election Commission is expected to certify the final results of the general elections of February 9 today. Before this process, it is being requested that the Prime Minister and ministers who have won parliamentary mandates in these elections resign. Some believe that if they do not resign, they are violating constitutional and legal provisions, while others argue that this should happen on the day they take the oath as deputies.

According to the Law on Government, specifically point 1 of Article 26, it is stated that “in case a member of the acting Government is elected as a deputy of the Assembly, he/she must resign from the position of a Government member before the day of certification of the election results.”

Through a letter addressed to political parties today, the CEC reminded them of the provisions of the Law on Government, specifically the article that requires the resignation of members of the current Government who have been elected as deputies in the new legislature.

From the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, Vullnet Bugaqku believes that the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, and members of the government cabinet who have won parliamentary mandates should resign as soon as today.

He adds that with the certification of the election results of February 9 by the CEC, the status of the government changes from one with full competencies to a caretaker government with limited competencies.

“In principle, all members who are currently in office should resign. They should resign because the Constitution of Kosovo and the applicable laws do not allow a person to hold both the status of an elected deputy and that of a minister simultaneously. For this reason, before the elections are certified, the CEC should certify the list of candidates only for those who have accepted the parliamentary mandate, but not for those candidates who might hold another function in the executive branch. Secondly, another provision in the Law on Government, Articles 30 and 31, Paragraph 7, links the mandate of a regular government to the end of the legislature or the previous Assembly. Today, with the certification of the election results, the status of the government changes, and this government as a whole transitions into a caretaker government with limitations, meaning that neither the Prime Minister, ministers, nor the government can exercise full mandates as they did before,” he emphasized.

The Democratic Institute of Kosovo considers that the failure of the government to resign may be considered a legal and constitutional violation.

“In principle, yes, it can be considered that the Constitution is also being violated because it prohibits this. There is an article that addresses the incompatibility of holding dual functions, which prevents a deputy from being a member of the executive and vice versa. Article 6 of the Law on Government is also violated, but there are no legal consequences. There are no legal consequences that would penalize them,” Bugaqku stressed.

However, a different opinion regarding whether the Prime Minister and cabinet members should resign upon the certification of the February 9 election results is shared by the Kosovo Institute for Justice.

Gëzim Shala from the Kosovo Institute for Justice says that government officials do not need to resign until the day they take the oath as deputies.

“There should be no institutional vacuum by having ministers resign from their posts before the day of the deputies’ swearing-in. For this reason, in this situation, according to our position, there is no need for government officials who have been elected deputies to resign at the moment of certification, but this should happen when they take the oath as deputies. The Law on Government, in this specific case, is the problem itself; it is a law that has not addressed this situation. For this reason, the interpretation should be made systematically and logically in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo, and the article requiring resignation should not be applied,” he said.

According to Shala, the constitutional interpretation in this case legitimizes the non-implementation of the Law on Government.

“Despite the fact that the legal norm is not being applied directly in this case, the direct constitutional interpretation in this specific case legitimizes the non-implementation of this provision of the law, which in fact is a weak provision, a weak legal approach, making it unenforceable in this situation. Despite the fact that it should facilitate the process, it is precisely the Law on Government that is complicating the situation in this particular case,” he said.

From the current government, those who have secured parliamentary seats for the new legislature include Prime Minister Albin Kurti, ministers, and deputy ministers Faton Peci, Hekuran Murati, Albulena Haxhiu, Xhelal Sveçla, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Arben Vitia, Ejup Maqedonci, Hajrullah Çeku, Arbërie Nagavci, Liza Gashi, Rozeta Hajdari, Fikrim Damka, Nenad Rashiq, Elbert Krasniqi, Emilja Rexhepi.

/B. Ibishi.