What would direct election of the president bring to Kosovo?

As the deadline approaches for the election of a new President of Kosovo, without a clear indication that there is a candidate capable of securing the required two-thirds majority in parliament, proposals are increasingly being voiced that, in the future, the president should be elected directly by citizens. According to interlocutors of Kosovo Online, there is no consensus among political actors on this issue. With a directly elected president, they note, a dualism between the president and the prime minister would emerge. A change in the election procedure—implying a constitutional amendment—would be easier to achieve if the president were not granted broader powers than those currently in place.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

Under the Constitution of Kosovo, the president is elected by the Assembly. One of the drafters of this document, Professor Arsim Bajrami, believes that the time has come to consider amending the Constitution in the section concerning the election of the president, so that citizens would elect the president directly.

“In most countries in the region, the people directly elect the president; the only exceptions are Albania and Greece, where the parliament does so. Our practice has shown that election in parliament often depends on agreements and ‘political bargaining,’ which diminishes the legitimacy of the president’s office,” Bajrami stated.

In his view, direct elections would avoid excessive dependence on inter-party agreements and would make the institution of the presidency more stable.

Political analyst Ilir Deda also believes that constitutional changes would be the best solution so that, next time, citizens could directly elect the President of Kosovo.

Although he considers this to be fairer and more appropriate, analyst Artan Muhaxhiri does not believe that Kosovo’s political class is ready to delegate its power to citizens, since the current method of electing the president allows it to make political calculations, particularly in relation to the government or the position of speaker of parliament.

“Political leaders are not inclined to change anything,” analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu told Kosovo Online, emphasizing that, for now, there is no political will to change the election procedure for the president.
To change the method of electing the president, the Constitution must be amended. Spahiu believes this would be very easy if there were the necessary political will. Two-thirds of the deputies could decide on it immediately, he assesses, noting that a constitutional amendment also requires the support of two-thirds of representatives of minority communities—that is, 14 of the 20 deputies representing ethnic minorities.

“I think changing the method of electing the president is in everyone’s interest, especially that of minorities, because candidates for president would then campaign in minority communities to seek votes, which could increase the importance of minorities in decision-making. Each candidate would likely promise them something in order to secure their votes, thereby strengthening their role in Kosovo’s society. That is why I believe minorities would support amending the Constitution in this regard. The majority of Kosovo’s population also has an interest in this, in order to avoid the political deadlocks that always arise when electing the president,” Spahiu states.

Asked whether the direct election of the president would lead to a redistribution of political power in Kosovo, he says he does not believe so—unless the president’s competences were expanded, which would also be decided during the constitutional amendment process.

“When the Constitution is amended, it can be decided that the competences remain the same, be reduced, or be expanded. I think the president’s competences should remain the same, as that would be the easiest to pass. We have become accustomed to the existing competences over the past twenty years, so it would be easier to implement and leave them as they are,” he adds.

Stefan Surlic, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, also assesses that, at this moment, it is an unrealistic political scenario for Kosovo to change the method of electing the president, since there is no consensus among political actors.

“Although there are differing voices, this would require a very complex constitutional amendment procedure, and it should be recalled that support from the Serbian community is also required for constitutional changes. There would have to be broad political consensus, including the Serbian community, for the president in Kosovo to be elected directly,” Surlic told Kosovo Online.

As a reason for promoting the idea of changing the election method, he cites concern about potential blockage of the presidential election process in parliament in the future, since that process requires broader agreement among deputies—not only on the election itself but also on attendance at the session.

However, he notes that the direct election of the president would make Kosovo’s political landscape even more complex.

“If the president is elected directly, he or she becomes a much stronger figure within the dual executive, and there would be a dualism between the president and the prime minister. Currently, executive power in Kosovo is concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, and I believe that Albin Kurti will not allow himself to have any competitor on the political scene—especially not a figure who, through direct election, draws significant legitimacy in the political and social sphere,” Surlic assesses.

Secret Ballot

The Constitution of Kosovo provides that the President of Kosovo is elected by secret ballot in the Assembly, and that a candidate must secure the signatures of at least 30 deputies in order to be nominated.

Election requires a two-thirds majority of all 120 deputies. If no candidate obtains the required majority in the first two rounds of voting, a third round is held between the two candidates who received the highest number of votes in the second round. In that round, the candidate who receives a majority of votes of the deputies present is elected. If the president is not elected even in the third round, the Assembly is dissolved and new elections are called, which must be held within 45 days.