Kosovo parliament fails to elect all deputy speakers
Kosovo’s parliament in Pristina once again failed to complete the election of deputy speakers, meaning the legislative body is still not considered inaugurated. As Balkan Insight reports, lawmakers convened twice on Friday for voting but were unable to overcome the political deadlock.
Vote for deputy speakers
On Wednesday, Albulena Haxhiu of the Vetevendosje party was elected speaker of parliament, while on Friday her fellow party member Ardian Gola was elected as one of the deputy speakers. Democratic Party of Kosovo candidate Vlora Çitaku received 44 votes during the ballot, below the required minimum of 61 votes.
Following this, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Kosovo left the session. Party leader Bedri Hamza said the party saw no reason to continue participating in parliamentary sessions and would appeal to the Constitutional Court. Party representatives accused Albin Kurti’s Vetevendosje of blocking the inauguration of parliament.
Under constitutional rules, parliament cannot be considered inaugurated until the speaker and all five deputy speakers have been elected. Vetevendosje refuses to support candidates from two opposition parties — Vlora Çitaku of the Democratic Party of Kosovo and Kujtim Shala of the Democratic League of Kosovo.
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Agreement on the president
Vetevendosje said it would not support candidates for deputy speaker posts who oppose an agreement concerning Kosovo’s next president. Çitaku and Shala have stated their disagreement with the nomination of Bekim Sejdiu, a former Constitutional Court judge and diplomat.
In the early election on June 7, Vetevendosje won 53 of the 120 seats in parliament, the Democratic Party of Kosovo won 22, and the Democratic League of Kosovo won 18. Vetevendosje says it can count on 62 votes to form a government with the support of representatives of ethnic minorities and one Serbian lawmaker.
After parliament is inaugurated, it must elect a new president within two months. To be elected in the first two rounds, a candidate needs at least 80 votes, while in a possible third round, 61 votes are required. Parliament plans to continue its work on Sunday.
