Are the keys to solving the political deadlock in Vjosa Osmani’s hands?

The repeated nomination of Albulena Haxhiu, for whom the Self-Determination Movement has already failed five times to secure the required 61 votes to elect her as President of the Kosovo Assembly, has raised the question of whether the solution to this Gordian knot lies in the hands of President Vjosa Osmani. Analysts believe that she could request an advisory opinion from the Constitutional Court regarding the situation Kosovo has found itself in following the elections held on 9 February, and that such an opinion would also serve as a precedent for similar future cases.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

What would be of crucial importance, however, is how the question that Osmani would submit to the Court would be formulated. It would have to be framed in a way that the Court’s response would provide clear guidelines on the timeframe for the election of the President and Vice Presidents of the Assembly, and under what circumstances new elections would be triggered—points over which fierce debate has been raging in Pristina in recent days.

Such a move by Osmani could be preceded by consultations with political parties.

The Kosovo Democratic Institute has already called on the President to take the initiative and convene an urgent meeting with the leaders of parliamentary parties to discuss possible solutions to the crisis, noting that the Assembly has entered an absurd cycle of repeated sessions every 48 hours without any results.

Following this call, her office announced that she is ready for such a meeting.

"President Osmani has already expressed full readiness for consultations with party leaders whenever they deem it necessary," the Presidency stated on Friday.

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo MP Daut Haradinaj said after today’s failed vote that he believes it would be "very appropriate" for the President to invite the parliamentary parties to a meeting. Meanwhile, their coalition partner, Fatmir Limaj, leader of the Social Democratic Initiative (Nisma), said that he would attend such a meeting if invited, but added that, in his view, the President currently has no role in the ongoing political circumstances.

Political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri told Kosovo Online that, in a situation where the constitution of the Assembly is blocked, President Osmani does not have the political power to impose a solution but could still play a very important role by submitting a question to the Constitutional Court and requesting its opinion.

"That is the best way to resolve this deadlock, and if the same situation were to arise again in the future, we would have a solution. We had a similar blockage in 2014, and it was resolved by the Constitutional Court," said Muhaxhiri.

He added, however, that he does not believe political parties would heed any proposals Osmani might offer, but that it would be a different matter if she requested the Constitutional Court’s opinion.

"That would be the best course of action on her part—not only for the current situation but also for the future," Muhaxhiri said.

If no solution is found for the situation in the Assembly, university professor Mazllum Baraliu also believes that President Vjosa Osmani should initiate proceedings before the Constitutional Court.

According to him, the parliamentary deadlock cannot be prolonged indefinitely.

"The duty of this political class, especially the winning parties that have secured mandates in the Assembly, is to find a solution and not allow this to continue endlessly. A solution always exists when there is will, understanding, and an awareness of the high political and state responsibility of political actors. If that does not happen, then the country's President has the constitutional right to appeal to the Constitutional Court, and she should do so if this odyssey continues indefinitely," Baraliu said.

Dimitrije Milic, Program Director of the "New Third Way" organization, said that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani could be helpful in resolving the political crisis in Pristina, but also noted that it remains to be seen whether she will have the political strength to do so.

Milic emphasized that, according to available public opinion polls, Osmani is among the more popular figures in Kosovo and that she clearly enjoys solid Western support—both American and European—in her actions, as seen during some of her recent visits abroad.

"I assume that Western actors have a certain degree of confidence that Osmani could assist in resolving this political crisis, but the problem is broader than that, so her possibilities will be more limited by her personal capabilities and by the perception of political actors in Kosovo as to whether she is truly objective and whether she can act as a kind of mediator between the warring political factions. I would say that she is more likely to help than to cause harm, but of course, the question remains as to the extent of her capabilities," Milic said to Kosovo Online.