The Kosovo Assembly will resume its constitutive session on Friday at 11:00 a.m., with the election of deputy speakers as the sole item on the agenda, following a failure by parliamentary groups to reach agreement on the voting procedure.
The session was postponed by newly elected Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu after lawmakers failed to agree on whether the proposed deputy speakers should be voted on individually or as a package.
The dispute comes after Vetëvendosje said it would not support the deputy speaker candidates nominated by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Vlora Çitaku and Kujtim Shala.
Vetëvendosje leader Albin Kurti subsequently said he had contacted PDK leader Bedri Hamza and LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku to seek an agreement on the selection of the deputy speakers, arguing that consensus was necessary to complete the constitution of the Assembly and avoid further political deadlock.
The proposed candidates include Ardian Gola from Vetëvendosje, Vlora Çitaku from PDK, Kujtim Shala from LDK, Slavko Simić from the Serb community and Emilija Redžepi representing the non-Serb minority communities.
The failure to elect the deputy speakers has prevented the constitutive process from being fully completed. The Assembly has been operating beyond the constitutional deadline for its constitution, which expired on August 7.
The dispute is particularly significant because the completion of the Assembly’s constitution is a key step toward forming the new government and subsequently proceeding with the election of the president, a process that could otherwise lead to another political crisis and potentially new elections.
Friday’s session is therefore expected to test whether the parliamentary parties can reach an agreement on the voting procedure and complete the remaining step in constituting the Assembly.
