For the 47th consecutive time, Kosovo’s Parliament has failed to elect its Speaker, as the country’s institutional paralysis continues for a third straight month.
On July 15, the latest constitutive session once again ended in deadlock. Opposition parties – the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), and the Serb List – refused to propose members for the commission that would oversee the secret ballot necessary for electing the Speaker of the Assembly.
The opposition bloc maintains that this voting method is unconstitutional and has repeatedly boycotted the process.
Vetëvendosje, the party that won the February elections, insists that the secret ballot procedure aligns with the law and accuses the opposition of deliberately blocking the functioning of democratic institutions.
Their nominee for Speaker, Albulena Haxhiu, has been submitted for open voting several times, but has failed to secure a majority due to united opposition resistance.
During Monday’s session, the acting presiding officer, Avni Dehari, cut the microphones of opposition MPs from PDK, LDK, and AAK after they began addressing the broader political impasse rather than nominating commission members, which is the formal step required to move forward with the vote.
The session was adjourned once again and is now scheduled to resume on July 17.
The crisis has raised alarm across the political spectrum, especially as the Constitutional Court has made clear that the Assembly must be constituted within 30 days of its first session – a deadline long since missed. The continued impasse threatens not only governance but also Kosovo’s international credibility and democratic stability.
