The head of state, Hashim Thaçi, made a decision today on the formation of a new government without going to elections. Thaçi did this after meeting all parliamentary political parties separately, with whom he discussed the next steps after the Assembly trusted the Kurti government on March 25, overthrowing it with two-thirds of the deputies.
Through an official letter, the President addressed the Prime Minister of Kosovo, with the request to send him the new name that he will mandate as the new Prime Minister of the country.
Among other things, the president's letter states that the necessary steps will be taken according to the Constitution of Kosovo for the formation of the new government.
Professor of Constitutional Law, Mazllum Baraliu, clarifies that there is no set constitutional deadline for the time when the Vetëvendosje Movement will respond to the presidency.
"It is an inopportune moment and this matter had to be left until the coronavirus passes, otherwise there is no deadline, there is a constitutional vacuum and in the difficulties and problems that the representative may have, of course there may also be non-respect of some time which may eventually be called a reasonable time to respond. Therefore, I am saying that we are in a situation where only with these actions we can cause institutional damage to each other and nothing more than that", Baraliu tells Kosovapress by phone.
According to him, the process can last indefinitely if the party does not send the name of the representative to the President, since there is a constitutional vacuum and the party has not foreseen such a scenario.
"Political stalemate and political crisis may be caused because we have messed things up earlier with similar situations, even with decisions of the Constitutional Court in relation to the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, it is a fact that is also present in the provisions of the Constitution that Vetëvendosje is the winner of the elections. Self-determination cannot be eliminated, as the president has done today, therefore even in these eventual blocs that are trying to become political, for any other configuration of any other government, the will expressed by the voters for the winner of the previous elections, which is Vetevendosje. So Vetëvendosje cannot be left aside, we do not have a constitutional deadline to determine exactly how many days the new representative, namely the party that mandates someone from its ranks, can give the answer to the presidency and on the other hand there are claims to form another government , here we have the government in office, there we have the burden of the coronavirus, a wild pandemic that has spread all over the world and we are at risk, so anyway the crisis is evident and we should not contribute further to a deepening crisis because anyway, the fight against the pandemic is primary for all of us", says Baraliu.
Furthermore, Professor Baraliu says that there is a readiness of LDK, AAK and the Social Democratic Initiative to form a new government.
Interpreting the articles of the Constitution, Baraliu says that another option the President has before him is to dissolve the Assembly and send the country to extraordinary elections.
"The readiness of these other parties exists, and the plan exists, it seems, because the very fact that they agreed so quickly to overthrow this government, that is, the LDK with the other two parties, can also go towards the Parliament. The other possibility is article 82 of the Constitution, paragraph 2 which gives the president the possibility to dissolve the Parliament, after the motion of no confidence passes. The President has the authority to dissolve the Parliament and send it to new elections, and the President should think about this issue, because last night he declared on a television that he will take into account the full respect of the Constitution and two variants, he even mentioned the first going to the elections, or the formation of a broad-based government, or unity or technical, whatever you want to call it", says Baraliu.
In the letter that Thaçi sent to Kurti today, it is said that he ensures that all further steps will be in accordance with the Constitution and relevant legislation in force.
After Thaçi's letter, only the vice president of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Fatmire Kollqaku, reacted, who said that she is switching from PAN to PLAN.
"Robbery of power contrary to the Constitution, and then legalization of the unconstitutional action by changing the Constitution. #nukkalon", she wrote.
After the meetings that the president has held with the leaders of the political parties, the Vetëvendosje Movement has called for new elections, opposing the formation of a different government, while other parties have supported the formation of a comprehensive government, saying that it is not time for elections because of pandemic with Covid19.
The Kurti government has remained in office since March 25, when the Kosovo Assembly overthrew it with a majority of votes after the LDK initiated a no-confidence motion against the government of which it was a part.
