The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has found that the election of a Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from among the Serb community is a necessary step for the completion of the process of constituting the Assembly.
In the full judgment which court published on October 8, emphasizes that the representation of communities is guaranteed by the Constitution, and that the Assembly cannot be considered fully constituted without the inclusion of a representative of the Serbian community in its leadership.
The Court has also clarified that "package" voting for deputy speakers of the Assembly is not a mandatory practice, but can be achieved through agreement between parliamentary groups.
Following the Constitutional Court's verdict, the Kosovo Assembly announced that the proceedings of the constitutive session will continue on Friday, starting at 10:00.
Political experts believe that the Constitutional Court's ruling does not clearly indicate what will happen if the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly is not elected from the ranks of the Serbian community within 12 days.
Mazllum Baraliu told the Telegraph that the verdict is contradictory.
"Unclear, not comprehensive enough, contradictory, and without a clearly recommended final solution as to what happens if all that has been said in all those points of the judgment is not respected, or the vote for the vice-president from the minority community does not result in a successful vote. So, it is not a question of a final solution, since many decisions have been made, one after the other, and therefore they are contradictory even within these decisions, but the fourth point is also in violation of the Constitution. Paragraph 4, Article 67 of the Constitutional Court does not state there that the largest parliamentary group proposes the candidate for vice-president of the Serb community," said Baraliu.
Mazllum Baraliu
Among other things, he added that the verdict can also be interpreted as being in violation of the Constitution to a certain extent, specifically paragraph 4 of its Constitutional Court.
Melazim Koci also said that the Constitutional Court's decision has clarified and removed many dilemmas, but not the issue of the legal vacuum that arises from Article 67 of the Constitution and the 2014 CC decision.
"The Constitutional Court cannot do this and this circumstance may cause another blockade. Initially, the Constitutional Court has dismissed the fears of some that with its decision, the Serbian minority may be given the right of veto in the constitution of the Assembly. It claims that the Assembly cannot be considered constituted without the election of all deputy speakers, including the deputy speaker from among the Serbian minority," he stressed.
Among other things, Koci claims that the Constitutional Court finds that the election of vice-presidents from minorities is an obligation and a constitutional category, but that even the Assembly cannot be held hostage if minorities obstruct and do not cooperate in the election of the vice-president from among their ranks.
"So, in case of obstruction by the Serbian minority, the Assembly will be considered constituted even without the Serbian deputy speaker. Now we are in a situation where the Serbian List will have the right to nominate 9 deputies for deputy speaker 3 times each, and then there remains the candidacy of Nenad Rashiq or for the issue to be determined by lot," he claimed.
According to Koci, it is evident that without a political agreement between Albanian parties, the vice president from the Serbian minority cannot be elected.
"If Albanian MPs do not form a majority for either the nine MPs of the Serbian List or for Nenad Rashiq, it becomes clear that the blockade is being caused by inter-Albanian political polarization and not the Serbs," Koci told Telegrafi.
Melazim Koci
As for whether a consensus will be reached between Albanian parties to elect the deputy speaker of the Assembly from among the Serbian minority, Koci said that under normal circumstances, such a thing should happen.
"Under normal circumstances, consensus should be achieved, because the position of Deputy Speaker of the Assembly has no political weight. The best solution would be if they jointly agreed to vote for one of the candidates from the Serbian minority. But, in the circumstances of the extreme polarization of our political scene, the lack of consensus would not be a surprise," Koci declared, adding that this possibility becomes even greater in the circumstances of an electoral battle.
"The optimal solution would be if all MPs agree to vote for a Serbian candidate, leaving aside the electoral race. If not, Albanian political parties take responsibility for continuing to block the Assembly. If the Assembly fails to elect a deputy speaker from among the Serbian minority within 12 days, there is no other option but for the country to go to extraordinary elections," he said.
He further emphasized that the Constitutional Court's decision is clear as far as the Constitution and the 2014 CC's decision allow, adding that "the Constitutional Court is acting in circumstances of a legal vacuum, as in the case of the election of the Speaker of the Assembly, and now also in the case of the election of the Deputy Speaker from among the Serb minority."
"In the specific case of the Serbian vice president, there is again a contradiction, the position is reserved/guaranteed, while a parliamentary majority or 61 votes is required. One and the other are not possible. This case has also made the legal vacuum in the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo transparent."
Analyst Koci said that the Constitution presupposes political agreement for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Assembly, but does not indicate what to do if this majority does not exist and does not even allow for elections without the constitution of the Assembly.
"In no parliamentary democracy does the logic of political agreements initially work, but rather clear norms and precise legal and constitutional deadlines. These clearly defined norms and deadlines (as in the case of the government) then force political entities to make agreements and compromises."
"Consequently, amending the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo on these issues has become imperative. Otherwise, Kosovo could face a blockade of this nature even after the next elections," he concluded.
Otherwise, since February 9, when the parliamentary elections were held, the country has been left without any newly formed institutions.
Initially, the process stalled on the name of the speaker of parliament proposed by the Vetëvendosje Movement.
Other political entities did not vote for Albulena Haxhiu for this position. Subsequently, this party nominated Dimal Basha for Speaker of Parliament, who managed to be elected Speaker of the Assembly, with the support of the PDK.
However, the process stalled again, as voting for the vice-presidents from the communities took place separately, and there were not enough votes for the vice-president from the Serbian community.
Analysts have assessed that the country is being harmed due to the lack of new institutions. /Telegraph/
