MP from the Serbian community, Nenad Rashic, says he will not run for deputy speaker of the Kosovo Assembly.
He believes that the full Constitutional Court ruling published on Wednesday gives only the Serbian List the right to propose a candidate for this position.
Based on his reading of the verdict, Rashic emphasizes that he was not left with room to run for vice president and consequently will respect the rules, laws, and in particular the Constitution.
The elected deputies will gather tomorrow, October 10, to continue the constitutive session with the only item on the agenda - the election of the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from among the Serb community.
The Constitutional Court on October 8 published the full judgment following the appeal of the Serbian List regarding the constitution of the Assembly. The court stated that the Assembly has not been constituted, while giving 12 days for the deputies to complete the constitution process. The 12-day deadline began to run from the day the full judgment was published on the court’s official website – October 8.
Prior to this verdict, Rašić had proposed himself as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly in three attempts to elect the Deputy Speaker from among the Serb community, but he did not receive the necessary 61 votes.
Rašić, in a response to KosovaPress, now says that based on the verdict, the Serbian List has the exclusive right to propose the vice-president from the Serbian community.
"If I understood correctly, the Constitutional Court has clarified that the Serbian List has the exclusive right to nominate a candidate (for deputy speaker of the Assembly). If this is the situation, as I am reading it, I consider that they have not left any room for me to run, because from the beginning I have been trying to respect the rules and laws, in particular the Constitution. If I have read it correctly, it has not allowed any other option than the Serbian List... If this is how I read it, I will not propose (myself)," emphasizes MP Rašić.
In addition, Rashic announced that there have been no discussions with the Vetevendosje Movement, the party that had supported him for deputy speaker of the Assembly.
The Constitutional Court, in its judgment of October 8, found that the constitutive session of the Assembly, which began on April 15, 2025, did not conclude as a result of the failure to elect the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from among the Serb community, and the Assembly was not constituted in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 66 (Election and mandate) and paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 67 (Election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers) of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.
The Constitutional Court has ordered all elected members of the Assembly, during the procedure for electing the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from among the members of the Serbian community, to exercise their constitutional function in the best interest of Kosovo and in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
The Assembly has so far elected as vice-presidents Albulena Haxhiu from the Vetëvendosje Movement, Vlora Çitaku from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Kujtim Shala from the Democratic League of Kosovo, and Emilija Rexhepi from the non-Serb minorities.
Meanwhile, the Serbian List proposed Slavko Simić for vice-president, but he did not receive the necessary votes. However, this party has insisted on only this candidate.
Subsequently, the elected Speaker of the Assembly, Dimal Basha, through a draw, put eight Serbian MPs to the vote, but they did not receive the necessary votes either.
Dimal Basha then declared that the Assembly has been constituted, but the Constitutional Court has spoken its mind, emphasizing that the legislative institution is not considered constituted without a Serbian vice president being elected.
Kosovo held parliamentary elections on February 9, but new institutions have not yet been formed.
