Albulena Haxhiu, Deputy Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the Vetëvendosje Movement has submitted comments to the Constitutional Court regarding the Serb List’s request concerning the Serbian deputy speaker of the Assembly.
Haxhiu stressed that “Kosovo is a unitary state and not a multiethnic one” and that no one has the right to veto the country’s institutions.
“First, I want to emphasize that our state is unitary and not multiethnic. This model regulates our democratic Republic. In our independent state of 2008, no ethnic, gender, or social group has the right of veto over our institutions that establish the Republic. We, the citizens, are equal parties,” she said.
Haxhiu added that the Ahtisaari Package, which preceded the Constitution, guaranteed reserved seats for non-majority communities, but not the right of veto. She stressed that Kosovo’s Constitution intentionally avoided granting veto powers to minority deputies, in order to ensure the functionality of institutions.
The Deputy Speaker stated that Vetëvendosje has requested the Constitutional Court to reject the Serb List’s request, calling the temporary measure imposed by the Court unacceptable. She described the Serb List as a threat to the country’s stability and democracy.
Last Friday, the Constitutional Court imposed a temporary measure preventing deputies from taking actions or advancing any procedure for the formation of the new Government. The measure was imposed ex officio, based on the request of Serb List deputies.
At the end of August, the Kosovo Assembly elected the Speaker and four out of five deputy speakers, separating the vote for deputy speakers representing non-majority communities. No Serbian community deputy received enough votes to be elected, while the new Speaker, Dimal Basha, declared the institution constituted.
Following this decision, the Serb List turned to the Constitutional Court, claiming that Basha’s decision violated the Constitution regarding the separate voting of deputy speakers from minority communities.
