A total of 4 amendments were sent by President Vjosa Osmani to the Kosovo Assembly on March 5 to change the method of electing the current president, which were not voted on due to the lack of a quorum.
The amendments included changes so that the president would no longer be elected by the Assembly of Kosovo, but directly by citizens with the right to vote.
The amendments also provided that the mandate of the President of the Republic of Kosovo, elected by the Assembly, according to the previous provisions of the Constitution, continues until the new President is elected and takes the oath.
Also, the amendments provided to KOHA stipulated that the presidential elections be announced by the Speaker of the Assembly, no later than six months before the end of the regular mandate of the President of the Republic of Kosovo.
Amendment 1 submitted by Osmani provided for the amendment of Article 65 of the Constitution, Powers of the Assembly.
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It was proposed to amend paragraph 7 of this article.
"The current Article 65.7 is as follows: 'The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (7) shall elect and may dismiss the President of the Republic of Kosovo in accordance with this Constitution'; According to the proposed amendment, Article 65.7 is amended as follows: 'The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo: (7) shall submit to the Constitutional Court the petition for the dismissal of the President of the Republic of Kosovo, in accordance with Article 91 of the Constitution'", the request submitted by Osmani states.
In Amendment 2, Osmani proposed that in the cases when the Assembly is dissolved, as defined in Article 82, the last point, which is "If within a period of sixty (60) days from the date of commencement of the election procedure, the President of the Republic of Kosovo is not elected".
In Amendment 3, Osmani proposed that Article 86, Election of the President, be deleted and replaced with a new Article 86.
"According to the proposed amendment, the new Article 86 has the following text:
'1. The President of the Republic of Kosovo is directly elected by citizens with the right to vote.
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2. Presidential elections are announced by the President of the Assembly, no later than six months before the end of the regular mandate of the President of the Republic of Kosovo.
3. If the candidate for President receives an absolute majority (more than 50%) of the valid votes in the first round, then the President of the Republic of Kosovo is elected. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes in the first round, a second round of elections is held between the two candidates who received the largest number of votes in the first round. The second round of elections is held no later than 30 days after the first round. The candidate who receives the majority of the votes in the second round of elections is elected President of the Republic of Kosovo.", Osman's request states.
The President, in Amendment 4, has proposed adding a new article, Article 163, Proclamation of the First Presidential Elections, with the following content:
"Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Constitution: (1) The term of office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo, elected by the Assembly, in accordance with the previous provisions of the Constitution, shall continue until a new President is elected and sworn in. (2) Presidents who have served prior to the entry into force of these amendments shall be eligible for election and re-election once more as President of the Republic of Kosovo.”.
Osmani, at a press conference held on March 6, a day after the Assembly failed to elect her successor and did not approve the constitutional amendments, said that their approval was not related to her mandate, while adding that the changes could only be applied to the election of the president after five years.
"These amendments would have no effect on the election of the president, which was supposed to be held last night. The reason is simple: the amendments themselves stipulate that the procedure for electing the president directly by the people must begin 6 months before the end of the current term. This means that even if they were approved last night, they would not change "Nothing regarding the choice of my successor," Osmani said.
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The constitutional amendments, which President Osmani forwarded to the Assembly regarding the election of the president of the state by direct vote by the people, failed to be approved on March 5 due to the lack of a quorum.
Any constitutional amendment requires the approval of two-thirds of all members of the Assembly, including two-thirds of all members from non-majority communities. In this session, there were 93 members of the Assembly, while all nine lawmakers from the Serb party, the Srpska List, were absent.
