Acting President Albulena Haxhiu has set August 6 as the date for holding the constitutive session of the Parliament. Haxhiu said that she deliberately did not rush the convening of the session, in order to give the parliamentary political entities time to reach an agreement on the post of president. And, the acting Prime Minister stressed that the responsibility for electing the president goes beyond the party he leads.
The constitutive session of the new legislature of the Assembly will be held on the first Thursday of August. The decision to this effect was announced on Friday by the acting president, Albulena Haxhiu, who, in her capacity as speaker of parliament, is also responsible for organizing the session.
In a press conference, Haxhiu said that he has decided that the session will not be held earlier than 10:00 on August 6, with the aim of giving political parties time to continue the dialogue for an agreement on the election of the president.
"Since there is still no agreement among politicians on the issue of the president, I have decided, immediately after the certification, not to hastily call the constitutive session, but to use the deadline allowed by the Constitution to create the necessary space for political parties for dialogue and for building a consensus. Until then, it remains the political and institutional obligation of parliamentary entities to continue the dialogue," said Haxhiu.
Based on the Constitutional Court's decision, the constitution of the new legislature must take place no later than 30 days from the officialization of the election results. Based on this, the last day for deputies to take the oath and elect the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Assembly is August 7.
Although the Constitution has not described any legal consequences if the Assembly is not constituted within 30 days, it has described such consequences if the president is not elected within 60 days. This deadline begins to run from the moment the legislature is constituted, and if the head of state is not elected, the Assembly is dissolved.
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Haxhiu meets party leaders in preparation for the constitutive session
Haxhiu said that the decision to hold the session on August 6 is appropriate, although he admitted that, even after this waiting period, hopes for an agreement between the parties remain low.
"I consider that I acted correctly and my intention was the best: that is, to provide the necessary space and to reach an agreement. It seems that we are not very close, but I hope that the meetings will intensify," said Haxhiu.
The setting of the date for the constitutive session was welcomed by the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, who is also the leader of the party that won the snap elections, the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV). He said that the responsibility for electing the president goes beyond one political party.
"The setting of the date for the constitutive session of the eleventh legislature of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, by the acting president, Ms. Albulena Haxhiu, is welcome. Political parties, each according to the share that the people have given them, are once again faced with the responsibility of fulfilling the tasks of forming new institutions, including the election of the president," Kurti said during the Government meeting.
He emphasized that there are now at most two weeks until the start of the session for the constitution of the Assembly, before moving on to the election of the new Government and then the president.
"For the new legislature and executive, as we know, a simple majority is needed. Meanwhile, for the president, at least in the first two rounds, due to a ruling of the Constitutional Court 15 years ago, the presence of two-thirds of the deputies is required, therefore the responsibility for his or her election goes beyond a political party", Kurti said. "In this spirit, exactly two weeks ago, on July 10, I held consultative meetings with the leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo. Meanwhile, we once again express regret that the Alliance did not accept the invitation. As time goes by, political actions and state interest must be put first."
After certifying the result, Kurti invited representatives of the three ranked parties in the June 7 elections for consultations, behind the political entity he leads: the leader of the Democratic Party (PDK) Bedri Hamza, the leader of the Democratic League (LDK) Lumir Abdixhiku, and the leader of the Alliance, Ardian Gjini.
Gjini refused, while after the meeting Hamza said that PDK will remain in opposition and that it is up to LVV to find partners to secure the votes for the formation of institutions.
Abdixhiku expressed hope for an agreement and agreed with Kurti to continue the meetings, in order to reach a final agreement on the institutions. However, he suspended the negotiations, after more than a third of the members of the LDK Assembly signed the request for an extraordinary meeting, which will have Abdixhiku's dismissal on the agenda. LDK officials have emphasized that the meeting will be called before August 7, but so far no date has been confirmed.
Arben Gashi, one of the elected LDK deputies who has openly called for reflection on the election result, said that setting the date of the constitutive session is a moment that requires state responsibility, vision and political leadership. He emphasized that precisely in times like these, the LDK must assume its rightful role as the leading force of the center-right and bearer of Kosovo's state-forming culture.
But, he added another observation to this.
“To change Kosovo, we must first clearly define the LDK. We must know what we represent, what our values are and what political model we offer to citizens. We need a modern, representative, meritocratic and authentic LDK, built on the internal trust and good faith of citizens,” Gashi wrote on Facebook, a few hours after Haxhiu’s decision. “LDK should not build its politics on red lines or exclusivities towards any party. Cooperation should be guided by the interest of Kosovo, the political program, the Euro-Atlantic orientation and the need for strong and functional institutions. Kosovo needs a united LDK, with a clear identity, with self-confidence and the courage to lead. Only such an LDK can restore the trust of citizens and lead Kosovo towards development, stability and integration.”
The LDK came third in the June 7 elections, securing 18 seats in the Assembly.
The LVV has secured 53 seats. Together with MPs from the communities, it has enough votes to elect the speaker of parliament and the government. Meanwhile, for the election of the president, at least 80 MPs are required to participate in the voting in the first two rounds.
Eugen Cakolli, a researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), has assessed that scheduling the constitutive session at the end of the constitutional term creates a problem for the 60-day deadline for electing the president, risking that Kosovo will remain both without a functional Assembly and without an acting president.
"The Constitutional Court has determined that in circumstances where the Assembly has not yet been constituted, this deadline begins from its constitution. This means that August 6 activates the deadline, August 7 is counted as the first day, while October 5 is the 60th day, consequently, the last day for the election of the president. On October 4, the six-month period of the President's term of office ends. If the procedure for electing the president goes until the 60th day, on October 5, and eventually fails, then the Assembly will be dissolved since the period of the President's term of office has already ended," Cakolli said.
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How do the constitutional terms for the president work after the constitution of the Assembly?
In the event that the president is not elected within 60 days, the Assembly is dissolved and early elections are organized.
Political science professor Basri Muja has expressed skepticism that the political crisis in the country will end during this legislature, saying that he is not optimistic that all institutions will be constituted this time around.
Muja said that, although Kosovo is still within constitutional deadlines, during this period there has not been sufficient intensity of talks between political parties to find a solution.
"Unfortunately, during this time there has been no intense activity for talks between the parties. Haxhiu has expected that there will be movement during this time. In any case, we are still within the constitutional time frame and I think there is nothing wrong with setting August 6 for the constitutive session," he stated on KTV's "60 Minutes."
Commenting on the positions of political parties, Muja assessed that divisions within the Democratic League could make it difficult to reach a common position for a candidate, while saying that the Democratic Party has already made it clear that it intends to remain in opposition.
"This vicious circle will continue. The LDK, despite the will expressed by Abdixhiku and Osmani, due to internal problems and major divisions within the parliamentary group, will find it difficult to unify around a concrete proposal. This makes me not very optimistic that this time all institutions will be constituted. The PDK has already declared that it will be in opposition, and I believe that it has said that it will also be in opposition to the president," Muja emphasized.
According to him, in the current circumstances a non-partisan candidate would be the most suitable alternative for the post of president.
"It would have been good to be a non-partisan candidate for president, given the overall situation," he said.
The LVV had made an offer to the opposition, before the snap elections were announced, to provide three names as presidential candidates, with the promise that one of them would be voted for by the party's MPs. However, this proposal was not given.
Based on the criteria set by this party, candidates must not be party members.
And, the beginning of this term must be preceded by the constitution of the Assembly.
The August 7 deadline for the constitution stems from the Constitutional Court's ruling, published on June 25, 2025, when there was a deadlock in the Assembly.
Article 66 of the Constitution stipulates that “the Assembly of Kosovo shall be elected for a four-year term, starting from the day of the constitutive session, which shall be held within thirty (30) days of the official announcement of the election results.”
Meanwhile, based on the interpretation made by the Constitutional Court, the term "holding" the constitutive session means that it is concluded within 30 days after the certification of the result. And the result of the June 7 elections was made on July 8.
"The court, returning to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 66 of the Constitution, emphasizes that the very structure of this constitutional provision implies that holding the constitutive session within the thirty (30) day period is not a formal or indicative possibility, but a constitutional obligation closely related to the beginning of the mandate of the new legislature," the judgment states. “The requirement from paragraph 1 of Article 66 of the Constitution, that the Assembly hold the Constitutive Session within thirty (30) days does not mean only that the elected deputies must physically gather in the hall. The meaning of this norm must be substantial and functional, implying that within this deadline all constitutional actions resulting in the constitution of the Assembly must be carried out. These include: (i) verification of the mandates of the elected deputies, (ii) taking the oath by them (iii) election of the President of the Assembly and (iv) election of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly. Having said this, the Court reiterates that without the successful completion of these constitutional actions, the Assembly cannot be considered legally constituted and, consequently, cannot exercise any of the functions assigned to it by the Constitution.”
The results of the February 9, 2025 elections were certified on March 27, the constitution session began on April 15 - and the president and four vice presidents were elected on August 26 - 152 days after certification.
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The constitutive session is held on August 6th.
However, during this period, the Constitutional Court had issued two judgments declaring most of the hearings invalid and, according to the Constitutional Court, the 30-day deadline had not been exceeded.
Egzona Mema
