The constitutive session of the Assembly of Kosovo fails for the second time, where the newly elected deputies were supposed to be sworn in, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Assembly appointed.
After a consultation between representatives of parliamentary parties in a hall designated by the Secretary of the Assembly of Kosovo, no agreement was reached on how to proceed.
The Chair of the session, Avni Dehari, stated that during the meeting, there were representatives who expressed their positions, but also some who left the room. According to Dehari, when the session was interrupted for the second time, there were 100 deputies present in the hall.
“The meeting revealed their current positions. Some representatives left the consultation. Unfortunately, there was no consensus. The session will resume within 48 hours, at 12:00 PM on April 19, 2025, in the hope that an agreement will be reached by then,” Dehari emphasized.
The acting Minister of Justice from the Vetëvendosje Movement, Albulena Haxhiu, said after the session that there was no consensus during the consultative meeting and that, according to her, the parties held opposing views.
“The letter that President Osmani addressed to the chair of the constitutive session seeks a solution to prevent the blocking of the Assembly’s constitution, and to find such a solution, consultations are necessary. Today we were ready to contribute to the possible solutions before us,” Haxhiu emphasized.
She stated that the Vetëvendosje Movement wants to correct the Assembly’s erroneous decision, where on April 15 it voted against legitimizing the new deputies, but that they must consider how to correct that decision, since such a thing is not foreseen in the Constitution, decisions of the Constitutional Court, or the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, said after the session that the leading party usurped a constitutional right, in his view, by obstructing the flow of the session.
Krasniqi stated that Vetëvendosje does not have the numbers to establish institutions and, through these actions, is trying to buy time—another 48 hours.
“Instead of implementing the planned course of the session, this right was misused by the oldest deputy presiding over the session, to achieve party goals. They not only lack a majority, but aren’t even close to one. I urge them not to hold the formation of Kosovo’s institutions hostage,” Krasniqi stressed.
The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, also stated that the chair of the session unjustly interrupted today’s session, even though there was a quorum and the conditions to proceed with voting.
“This is a serious violation, an unusual practice, and a backward political behavior for which we have no justification. However, we will meet again in 48 hours to express our positions,” Abdixhiku emphasized.
The constitutive session of April 15 had failed because the first item on the agenda—approval of the report of the Commission for verification of quorum and mandates—did not pass. That report was not voted for by the opposition parties PDK, LDK, and AAK, who argued that Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti did not resign from his executive position in time to become a deputy.
On Tuesday, and again today, April 17, it was expected that deputies would first be sworn in, then the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Assembly appointed, and afterward, the possibility to vote on the new Government of Kosovo would be opened.
/Argumentum.al
