Experts on legal and constitutional issues warn of misuse of the legal vacuum by parliamentary parties, which are indefinitely delaying the constitution of the Kosovo Assembly.

Despite dozens of attempts, the deputies failed to conclude this process, while the opposition parties - the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, and the Serbian List - did not propose members for the commission that would enable the secret vote on Albulena Haxhiu's candidacy for Speaker of the Assembly.

Haxhiu, so far, has failed to receive the necessary 61 votes in an open vote, while her party - the Vetevendosje Movement - has refused to replace her name.

Kadri Kryeziu, former vice president of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, tells Radio Free Europe that the Constitution does not set a clear deadline for the constitution of the Assembly and this gap, according to him, is being misused by political parties.

"The drafters of the Constitution could not have foreseen this deviation, this destruction, which under normal circumstances should not have happened," says Kryeziu, referring to the blockage of the process.

According to him, the main responsibility falls on the Vetëvendosje Movement as the winner of the February 9 parliamentary elections, but other parties - PDK, LDK and AAK - are not excluded, as they are contributing to the delay in the constitution.

The professor of Constitutional Law, Mazllum Baraliu, is also in the same line.

He emphasizes that political parties are exploiting the constitutional vacuum to hide, as he says, "the inability of the party that won the most votes (Vetëvendosje Movement) to form institutions."

The lack of a legal deadline, according to him, has created space for fierce political warfare and partisan resentment.

"In this case, I say that the responsibility lies with the first, the relative winner, but also with the others, without distinction, because as a political class they are not interested in the state and institutions, but in power, in descending to the edge of absurdity, in resentment and political battles," Baraliu tells Radio Free Europe.

He adds that the Constitutional Court's 2014 decision is also being abused, which does not provide instructions on what happens if the election of the speaker of parliament fails and does not set clear deadlines for completing the constitution.

The impasse over the election of the speaker of parliament

Kryeziu does not only see the issue of nominating the Speaker of the Assembly as essential, but also warns about the neglect that political parties are making of the legal interpretation of the situation.

He recalls that the constitutive session, according to the decision of the Constitutional Court, must continue every 48 hours, but this, according to him, cannot be extended indefinitely.

He says that, in this specific case, logical and verbal legal interpretation should be used.

"The logical interpretation would mean that this (continuing the constitutive session every 48 hours) can only be done twice. The first time there may be problems of a technical nature. The second time, this should be completed," says Kryziu.

Any continuation after the second time, he adds, is "outside political, moral, constitutional, regulatory, etc." norms.

Baraliu, on the other hand, says that the abuses in the case of the failure to constitute the Assembly are consecutive.

He says that political parties have cemented their opposing positions regarding the election of Albulena Haxhiu as Speaker of Parliament.

According to him, MPs should use their mandate for the good of the state, institutions and citizens, but they are misusing it, preventing the completion of the constitution of institutions.

Furthermore, Baraliu estimates, political parties control the voting of MPs, "not allowing them to vote according to their conscience, conviction, and state and institutional interest," even though the Constitution guarantees them autonomy in decision-making.

How to get out of the deadlock?

Kryeziu describes the current situation of the blockage of the constitution of the Assembly as a state of emergency.

According to him, the solution should be sought through political agreements between parties, or even in "the exhaustion of domestic political and legal remedies."

"The resources are exhausted with the president of the state, because she is a factor of unity. She must call on (political parties) and insist that they create institutions," he says.

Kryeziu also says that the president has the right to request from the Constitutional Court a determination as to whether constitutional provisions were violated during the procedure for constituting the Assembly.

If this doesn't work either, he says that we should wait for the intervention of external factors, such as international partners, who can mediate to overcome the crisis.

Osmani has held several consultations with political party leaders in an attempt to resolve the impasse, but without success.

Radio Free Europe asked her office if it plans to take any steps, such as addressing the Constitutional Court, and is awaiting a response.

Earlier this month, Osmani said that the delay in the constitution of the Assembly damages the credibility of the institutions and the country's progress towards the Euro-Atlantic agenda.

For Baraliu, the only way out of the deadlock is through compromise and political agreements.

"The way out is, to put it briefly, to have a political agreement. To have political and logical rationality of behavior and attitude - in the sense of political maturity and democratic emancipation," emphasizes Baraliu.

Some politicians have also mentioned the possibility of organizing new parliamentary elections alongside local elections in October, however not everyone is convinced that this would be an effective solution.

Experts emphasize that once the Assembly is constituted and institutions are formed, political parties should immediately begin the process of constitutional amendments.

The goal is to clearly define the legal deadlines for the constitution of the Assembly, in order to avoid situations like the current one.

KosovoNEWS