The 50th attempt to constitute the Kosovo Assembly has failed. Members of Parliament continue their old habits – accusing each other, while lawyer Arianit Koci continues his creative protest against the institutional blockade by shaving his head in front of the Assembly.
Today’s session also began almost half an hour late.
The session chairman, as the oldest MP from Vetëvendosje, Avni Dehari, asked the parties that were in opposition in the previous Assembly to propose candidates for the secret ballot commission, which did not happen, KoSSev writes.
Instead, MP Elmi Reçica from PDK told Dehari “not to allow abuses.” LDK MP Armend Zemaj told him that he was abusing his right to chair the session.
Dehari interrupted their speeches, telling them that debate was not allowed and that they only had the right to propose names for the secret ballot commission.
Only 53 MPs voted for the formation of this commission to elect the Speaker of the Assembly by secret ballot, even though 104 were present in the hall.
The session was then adjourned, with a new one scheduled for Wednesday at 11:00 AM.
Koci’s Haircut Protest
Both before and after today’s session, the former opposition and the ruling party continued to accuse each other of another failure.
Meanwhile, one of the loudest critics of the institutional blockade, lawyer Arianit Koci, decided to express his protest again in his unique way.
Koci shaved his head in front of the Kosovo Assembly. He said that this was not only a protest against the MPs but also against the people of Kosovo, who, according to him, “have fallen asleep.”
More than five months have passed since the parliamentary elections in Kosovo. In March, the final election results were confirmed, but the Kosovo Assembly is still without a Speaker and Vice-Speakers, and Kosovo is without a new government.
The reason is that the opposition refuses to elect Albulena Haxhiu, the candidate insisted upon by Vetëvendosje, as Speaker of the Assembly through a secret ballot. She failed in six attempts to get the necessary votes in an open ballot, which is why Vetëvendosje resorted to the tactic of secret voting, where it is also failing.
Since the third session, the deadlock has been due to Haxhiu, who is not receiving enough votes. Sessions began on April 15, and since then, they have been interrupted and postponed 50 times, mostly for 48-hour periods.
The opposition accuses Vetëvendosje of blocking and creating an institutional crisis and deadlock, and of demanding a secret ballot so that Haxhiu can get votes from the Serb List.
LDK proposes the formation of a transitional unity government, PDK demands a change of candidate for Assembly Speaker, while AAK states that it will vote for a person who will unite all parties.
Supreme Court Ruling and Osmani’s Reaction
However, one of the key decisions, although not directly related to the saga but with a direct impact, is last week’s decision by the Supreme Court of Kosovo, which directly confirmed that the current technical government is violating the law by having its ministers simultaneously hold two positions. The Supreme Court decided on Wednesday, July 15, to annul an administrative instruction issued by the acting Minister of Finance because he also held the position of MP. The decision was strongly welcomed by the opposition, along with some experts, while Vetëvendosje strongly protested, which led the court to react again by speaking of inappropriate pressures on the court, and the court was unanimously supported by Western embassies.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani announced that this week she would address the Constitutional Court, which last month issued a ruling stating that the Assembly must be constituted within 30 days, i.e., by July 26, 2025.
Osmani emphasized that the implementation of this ruling is a “clear constitutional obligation” and stressed the need for cooperation and trust among all citizen representatives to find a quick solution.
The new session was held two days after a meeting between Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti and Fatmir Limaj.
Nisma reiterated its demand that Limaj be the candidate for Assembly Speaker, claiming that with his name, it would be possible to constitute the parliament as early as Monday. However, there were no clear signals from Vetëvendosje about a possible agreement.
Just before today’s session, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was asked about the meeting and a potential agreement with Limaj. However, according to media reports, he refused to answer journalists’ questions.
Nisma has three MPs and ran in the elections in a coalition with Ramush Haradinaj’s AAK. However, after the elections, Haradinaj stated that cooperation with Kurti had ceased, while Limaj is in constant communication with the Vetëvendosje leader.
In addition to Nisma, PDK also announced support for Fatmir Limaj’s candidacy for Assembly Speaker, but not for Albin Kurti’s new government, further complicating negotiations.
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Source: N1; Foto: Printscreen YouTube / Al Jazeera Balkans