Sallahu awaits Albulena Haxhiu's vote as Assembly Speaker, warns of elections in case of blockade

Acting Deputy Minister of Justice, Blerim Sallahu, has stated that he expects the Kosovo Assembly to vote for Albulena Haxhiu as Speaker of the Assembly tomorrow (April 21), as proposed by the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV).

He emphasized that his party has fulfilled its constitutional obligation under Article 67 of the Constitution.

"Article 67, paragraph 2 of the Constitution stipulates that the Speaker of the Assembly is proposed by the largest parliamentary group and is elected by a majority of all deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo. As the Vetëvendosje! Movement, we have fulfilled this article by proposing for Speaker of the Assembly Ms. Albulena Haxhiu, who has a total of 125,327 votes, so she is in the top five most voted in the party and the most voted woman in the Republic of Kosovo," Sallahu wrote in a post on April 20.

He warned that if the Assembly continues to remain blocked, then "the only solution is elections."

"The opposition's lack of will to not reconstitute the Assembly means not accepting the election results. The agreement must be for the constitution or dissolution of the Assembly," he added.

Meanwhile, the former head of the LVV parliamentary group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, has also reacted today, calling the non-participation of MPs in the vote for the Speaker of the Assembly a violation. She has published a part of the Constitutional Court Judgment that states that all MPs must be present and exercise their right to vote in the constitutive session.

"MPs cannot fail to vote on Monday (April 21) during the continuation of the session," Kusari-Lila emphasized.

Despite the fact that LVV, as the party with the most votes, has the right to propose a candidate for Speaker of the Assembly, Haxhiu's candidacy has not yet received the necessary support. In two previous attempts, it received 57 votes in favor, 19 against, while 3 MPs abstained.

According to the Constitution, there is no set deadline for when the constitution of the Assembly must be completed after the certification of the elections, but the new Rules of Procedure of the Assembly stipulate that interruptions during the constitutive session cannot last more than 48 hours.

The process of forming new institutions depends on the constitution of the Assembly. Only after the Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected, the President can mandate the candidate for Prime Minister from the winning party – in this case, the Vetëvendosje Movement.

The mandate holder, no later than 15 days after his/her appointment, must present the composition of the Government and request its approval by the Assembly. The Government is considered elected if it receives at least 61 votes. If two attempts to elect the Government fail, the President shall call early elections, which must be held within 40 days of the announcement.

If the formation of the Government is not achieved within 60 days of the appointment of the prime minister, then the Assembly is automatically dissolved.