Disagreements over the composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC) have deepened after the Constitutional Court declared inadmissible the request of President Vjosa Osmani regarding the appointment of members to this institution. The Vetëvendosje Movement and the Democratic Party of Kosovo continue to oppose each other over the right to the tenth member of the CEC, leaving the issue unresolved. Meanwhile, the Office of the Presidency has not clarified whether the second member from the PDK or the third member from the Vetëvendosje Movement will be appointed, which, according to election process monitors, has increased institutional uncertainty regarding the full functioning of the CEC.

On March 30, the Constitutional Court declared inadmissible the request of Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, regarding the appointment of members to the Central Election Commission. Osmani had requested an assessment of the “conflict between constitutional competencies under Article 113” of the Constitution, specifically between herself and “parliamentary groups as bodies of the Assembly of Kosovo” concerning the appointment of CEC members.

Vetëvendosje MP Artan Abrashi told KosovaPress that his party considers itself entitled to the third member in this institution, based on the election results. According to him, representation in the CEC should reflect political strength emerging from elections, and he did not rule out pursuing other legal avenues to defend this position if President Osmani appoints the second PDK member.

“Our arguments are clearly supported by law, and the third member in the CEC belongs to us, considering the result we achieved in the last elections in Kosovo. Therefore, political strength should be reflected in the composition of the CEC, and this is the basis of all our arguments in line with our position. We ask the president to reflect on this request… We do not exclude the possibility of appealing to the Constitutional Court; we will defend our right and the citizens’ vote regardless of how it manifests. In this case, it manifests through the third LVV member in the CEC, therefore we will use all legal avenues to protect what we believe is our lawful right to representation,” he stated.

On the other hand, PDK Presidency member Betim Gjoshi told KosovaPress that President Osmani should appoint the second PDK member to the CEC as early as today, warning that any delay harms the democratic functioning of the country.

According to him, referring the issue to the Constitutional Court was completely unnecessary. He recalled that a similar situation occurred in 2021 and that the court’s decision at the time supports PDK’s position.

“It was completely unnecessary for the president to send this request to the Constitutional Court. The same situation occurred in 2021, when they submitted a request—President Osmani in a similar way. At that time, PDK had 19 seats, while LVV had 58. Now we have even more, and the court gave the same response. We expect that today or as soon as possible President Osmani appoints the second member… Every day of delay seriously harms democracy and makes her a party to the weakening of the Central Election Commission, which has already been significantly damaged recently by government decisions noted by international observers… If we look at the continuous violations that Ms. Haxhiu has made of the Constitution and laws, I think she is not the right person to be entrusted with this decision-making,” Gjoshi added.

Meanwhile, Naim Jakaj, a researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute, considers it necessary that following the Constitutional Court’s decision, President Osmani acts within legal deadlines and appoints, according to him, the PDK representative to the CEC before the end of her mandate.

He adds that, in the absence of a decision, the competencies pass to the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, who, according to him, should follow the same legal principle in the appointment.

“We expect Ms. Osmani to decree the other member coming from PDK ranks, and she must do this before April 5, when her mandate ends. In the meantime, such an appointment can be made by the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, who has full powers to exercise the mandate. She also should not appoint another member from LVV, but should appoint from PDK ranks,” he emphasized.

Last week, President Vjosa Osmani decreed the appointment of nine members of the CEC, as provided by law.

She did not decree the tenth member, citing constitutional dilemmas and the fact that parties had made more nominations than the law предусматриes.

LVV had proposed three members, two of whom were appointed—Alban Krasniqi and Violeta Salihu—while the third proposed candidate, Njazi Isaku, was not appointed. Meanwhile, PDK proposed Ilir Gashi, who was decreed as its member in the CEC, while the second proposal, Rashit Qalaj, was not decreed.