The repeated failures of Kosovo’s lawmakers to constitute the Assembly for over two months have drawn increasing attention and concern from the international community.
German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jörn Rohde, described the current political deadlock as “depressing,” particularly for the candidate involved, the Assembly’s reputation, and for the citizens who exercised their democratic right to vote.
“To be honest, this is really depressing—for the candidate, for the reputation of the Assembly itself. Very depressing for the whole population that voted. There is a need for compromise. If everyone insists, ‘Only I am right,’ that’s fine in principle, but politics demands compromise—it demands solutions,” Rohde stated.
University professor Avdi Smajljaj emphasized that Kosovo’s prolonged institutional stalemate reflects poorly on the country in the eyes of international actors.
He suggested that political parties are acting irresponsibly, failing to honor not only their constitutional duty but also the trust of the electorate and the calls from civil society to form institutions.
“It seems that the constitutional obligation is not enough for political parties. Responsibility toward the state is not enough. Citizens’ votes are not enough. Now we’re down to the last mechanism—calls from Kosovo’s allies as an informal push to make the parties come to their senses. Otherwise, there is no other mechanism to force political parties to act responsibly and fulfill their basic constitutional duty: to constitute the Assembly and form the institutions,” said Smajljaj.
Former Ambassador of Kosovo to Albania, Sylë Ukshini, also stressed that the ongoing failures are damaging Kosovo’s international image.
“Our political class should be mature enough not to need constant reminders from international actors. After all, this is our own national interest. The parties are from this country; the electorate is Kosovar. At the end of the day, we are brothers and sisters—even if we are political rivals, we must be willing, for the sake of the state, to reach a compromise. That’s the essence of our Constitution and political system. It has always worked that way. In democracy, something must be given and something must be taken,” Ukshini emphasized.
Earlier this week, both France and the United Kingdom joined calls urging Kosovo’s parties to end the impasse and move forward with forming the new institutions.
The 34th attempt to constitute the Assembly is scheduled for Thursday.
