On Sunday, the formation of Kurti 3 failed in the Kosovo Assembly — 56 votes in favor, 52 against, and 4 abstentions — marking the first time since the war that a government proposal has not been approved. Now, the entire process returns to President Vjosa Osmani.
Until the full constitution of the Assembly, the caretaker government operated without formal oversight, as ministers and the acting prime minister simultaneously played the roles of both government and ruling party MPs. But with the Assembly now constituted — albeit amid ongoing debates — the situation has changed.
Former President of the Court of Appeals, Hasan Shala, told RTV21 that the only institution overseeing the caretaker government is the newly constituted Assembly.
“The only body that supervises the government is the Assembly, which is now considered constituted,” said Shala.
His statement came after Albin Kurti, the failed candidate for prime minister, warned that the rejection of his cabinet would leave the caretaker government without supervision.
“This extends the life of the caretaker government, and the Assembly will not have the means to oversee it,” Kurti stated.
However, lawyer Arbër Jashari argued that a caretaker government is meant to serve only a short, transitional period — not to last for months. He emphasized that this newly formed Assembly has no mandate to oversee a government deriving from a previous legislature.
“This Assembly did not vote for the government, so the caretaker cabinet cannot report to it. No one expected the formation of institutions to be delayed this long,” Jashari said.
Kosovo has been in a political deadlock for months, which experts believe is now nearing a legal conclusion. During this period, while the country lacked a functional Assembly, the caretaker government adopted several decisions that experts consider unlawful.
“In my view, these acting ministers are staying in office illegally because one cannot simultaneously be a deputy and a minister,” Shala stated.
Jashari added that any citizen or legal entity challenging government decisions in court would likely win, based on a precedent set by the Supreme Court.
In July this year, the Supreme Court annulled a decision of the Ministry of Finance, ruling it unlawful. In its reasoning, the Court emphasized that ministers who are also sitting deputies do not have the right to make executive decisions.
