Six months after Kosovo’s regular parliamentary elections on February 9, the country remains without a constituted parliament or a new government, plunging it into a deep institutional crisis.
On April 15, efforts began to convene the ninth legislature of the Assembly. Since then, 54 separate sessions have been held, each ending in a failed attempt to elect the Assembly’s president.
Vetëvendosje Movement, which won the elections with 48 seats, has been unable to secure the required 61-vote majority to elect its candidate, Albulena Haxhiu, as Assembly Speaker. Other parliamentary parties have consistently refused to support her nomination.
Despite a ruling from the Constitutional Court obligating the Assembly to constitute itself within 30 days—a deadline that expired on July 26—deadlock persisted. A temporary measure was then imposed, barring MPs from taking steps toward constituting the Assembly until the Court issued a new decision.
Yesterday, the Constitutional Court ruled that MPs must elect a new Assembly Speaker through open voting within 30 days. The ruling also limits any single candidate to a maximum of three voting attempts and obliges MPs to be present and participate in the vote.
The decision has been welcomed by opposition parties from the previous mandate but criticized by Vetëvendosje, which argues that a secret ballot would better reflect MPs’ true positions.
For now, the temporary measure remains in effect until the full judgment of the Constitutional Court is published.
