Baraliu: The people told both the government and the opposition that they haven’t done enough

Former President of the Central Election Commission, Mazllum Baraliu, believes that the people sent a message in the February elections to both the ruling parties and the opposition, that they have not done enough to earn the right to form a new Kosovo government on their own.

“The people told both the government and the opposition that they haven’t done enough to be able to govern independently, as Self-Determination planned by aiming to secure more than 50% of the votes through a coalition. Nor can the opposition collectively take over the formation of the government. That is why we are in a deadlock. The voters themselves decided this. Therefore, both the winning party and the opposition parties should act in accordance with the will of the voters,” Baraliu stated for Kosovo Online.

He recalls that both the ruling coalition and the opposition parties tried to convince voters, both in Kosovo and the diaspora, that they were capable of forming a government independently.
“However, they failed to do so,” Baraliu emphasized.

He doubts that the current Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, could prolong the formation of a new government or delay early elections until next year while remaining in office under a technical mandate.

This is precisely the claim made by Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Lumir Abdixhiku.

“A technical government is not a solution because it will not be accepted. We have a winner, regardless of how much support they received. Forty-two percent is not insignificant. They (Self-Determination) will try to form a government on their own, there is no other way. I don’t think that either the people or the international community, which has a strong influence, will allow such an outcome,” Baraliu asserted.

He sees the solution in an attempt by the “winning team” in the elections to form a new government “in the spirit and accordance” with the Constitution and general election laws.

“If that is impossible, though I believe it will be possible. I think there will be a way to secure a certain number of MPs for what would be a so-called minority government, not a technical one, but rather a majority government that won the elections. But will it be stable – no. Will it be legal – certainly,” Baraliu concluded.