Following the submission of comments to the Constitutional Court regarding the process of constituting the Assembly of Kosovo, President Vjosa Osmani declared that the functioning of the state is being blocked due to the failure to elect a deputy speaker of the Assembly.

“They are attempting to block the entire state over a single deputy speaker, because a state without institutions is a failed state,” Osmani said in a press conference.

She added that the delay in constituting the Assembly and the failure to elect the speaker seriously endanger institutional functioning and the foundations of the Republic of Kosovo. Regarding the deputy speaker position reserved for the Serb community, Osmani stated that this post will remain vacant for the moment, without obstructing the constitutive process.

“When the Presidency has a quorum and a chairperson, and the MPs have taken the oath, blocking the process over a single position prevents the legitimate representation of citizens and the exercise of sovereignty,” she emphasized.

President Osmani warned that minority rights cannot be abused in order to obstruct the functioning of institutions. She recalled that the Serb List previously withdrew from institutions without preventing the state from functioning, and called on the Constitutional Court not to allow a veto over vital state processes.

“A veto over the Republic has never been the intention of the Constitution. Granting veto rights to a party representing a single community would reduce the Republic to nothing more than a piece of paper,” Osmani concluded.