Less than a week after the Kosovo Assembly was fully constituted \u2014 with its president and five deputy speakers \u2014 the constitutionality of this process has been called into question by the Serb List.
This party, the largest representing Serbs in Kosovo, filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the election of the Serb deputy speaker, Nenad Ra\u0161i\u0107, claiming that constitutional and procedural violations occurred.<\/p>\n
In its complaint, the Serb List requested that the court impose a temporary measure to prevent what it called \u201cunconstitutional actions that could cause irreparable damage.\u201d
The deputy speaker representing the Serb community was elected on October 10, with the position given to Nenad Ra\u0161i\u0107 \u2014 the only MP from the Party for Freedom, Justice, and Survival.
His name was voted on after none of the Serb List candidates \u2014 who hold the majority of seats reserved for the Serb community in the Assembly \u2014 managed to secure the required votes.<\/p>\n
According to Kosovo\u2019s Constitution, the deputy speaker must come from \u201camong the deputies holding seats reserved or guaranteed for the Serb community.\u201d
Meanwhile, under the Assembly Rules of Procedure, \u201cthe candidate for deputy speaker from the Serb community is proposed by a majority of deputies representing that community.\u201d
Ra\u0161i\u0107 was also voted on separately from the deputy speaker representing other non-majority communities \u2014 unlike in previous practice \u2014 but with the Constitutional Court\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n
Nenad Ra\u0161i\u0107 and the Constitutional Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n Based on these circumstances, Ehat Miftaraj, Executive Director of the Kosovo Institute for Justice, believes that Ra\u0161i\u0107\u2019s election may not have been in line with the Constitution. He also mentioned the case of Emilija Rexhepi, who was elected deputy speaker representing non-Serb minority communities separately from the Serb candidate \u2014 again, contrary to earlier practice. Constitutional law professor Mazllum Baraliu also considers the Serb List\u2019s complaint legitimate but views it as damaging to Kosovo\u2019s democratic process, since, as he said, it could lead to a suspension of the Assembly\u2019s work. Baraliu disagrees with the Constitutional Court\u2019s decision allowing the separate election of minority deputies, saying that the upcoming ruling on the Serb List\u2019s complaint is hard to predict. The constitution of Kosovo\u2019s Assembly was delayed for nearly six months due to political disagreements. According to Miftaraj, if the Constitutional Court rules in favor of the Serb List, the situation in the Assembly could revert to the circumstances that followed the October 8 ruling. He added that such a decision could also affect the formation of the new government. One day after the Assembly was constituted, President Vjosa Osmani mandated Vet\u00ebvendosje leader and acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti to form the new government. Doubts over Ra\u0161i\u0107\u2019s election had earlier been voiced by other experts as well as representatives of former opposition parties. (Source: Radio Free Europe)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Less than a week after the Kosovo Assembly was fully constituted \u2014 with its president and five deputy speakers \u2014 the constitutionality of this process has been called into question by the Serb List.This party, the largest representing Serbs in Kosovo, filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the election of the Serb deputy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":80859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\u201cI can say that Ra\u0161i\u0107 was not nominated by at least six Serb deputies in the Kosovo Assembly. From this premise, it can be concluded that there were constitutional violations in his election as deputy speaker,\u201d Miftaraj told Radio Free Europe.<\/p>\n
Although the situation seems clear, Miftaraj is cautious in making predictions.
\u201cThe Constitutional Court has surprised us before \u2014 it has changed standards and practices. Therefore, at this stage, it\u2019s difficult to predict what the Court\u2019s decision will be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt now depends on the Constitutional Court. I\u2019m convinced it will issue a protective, temporary measure… and the work of the Assembly will be suspended. After that, we\u2019ll see what happens,\u201d he told Radio Free Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the kind of mix-ups the Constitutional Court is making with its decisions, anything is possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
During this process, the Constitutional Court issued three rulings based on party complaints, which set the conditions and deadlines for completing the Assembly\u2019s formation.<\/p>\n
\nPossible Consequences for the New Government<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u201cThis would mean that the Assembly is not yet considered constituted. It would force the Assembly to hold another vote, in line with the Constitution and the Constitutional Court\u2019s rulings, to elect a Serb community deputy speaker proposed by the majority of Serb deputies,\u201d Miftaraj emphasized.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would nullify the nomination and mandate given by the president to the Vet\u00ebvendosje Movement for forming the next government,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
The 15-day deadline for this process began that day and ends on October 26.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are practically entering a phase of continuous constitutional violations,\u201d said the chairman of the Social Democratic Initiative, Fatmir Limaj, on the day Ra\u0161i\u0107 was elected deputy speaker.<\/p>\n