Arifaj: It is easier for Kurti to accept the draft statute of the CSM and send it to the Constitutional Court than to go to the elections

Although there are opinions that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti could provoke early elections next year to avoid forming the Community of Serb Municipalities, ATV editor from Pristina, Teuta Arifaj, says for Kosovo Online that there is only a small chance of going to the polls, and Kurti's government might be the first in Kosovo to complete its term. She believes that, in practice, it would be easier for Kurti to accept the draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities and submit that document to the Constitutional Court, thereby delaying its formation.

"I am sure that the Constitutional Court would find some objections, and in that case, the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities would be postponed. Prime Minister Kurti would be in a good position, and this would serve him to say, 'there, I am ready to form the Community of Serb Municipalities, but due to the court's decision, it must be postponed for some time.' How long it could be postponed, no one knows. We need to wait and see what could happen with that," Arifaj said.

Despite opposition dissatisfaction, accusations that the government led by Kurti did not fulfill pre-election promises, and a series of other criticisms, Arifaj emphasizes that there is a small possibility that the Kosovo Prime Minister will call for early elections, and the opposition in Kosovo is not in a position to try to pass a vote of no confidence in the government.

"Considering that since the institutions of Kosovo and parliamentarism exist, no government has completed its term to the end, Kurti's 'second government' might be the first to finish its term, which would also mean a record for him as a person and as prime minister. On the other hand, it is very easy for him to push the term to the end since he has a majority of MPs in parliament. On the other hand, the parliamentary opposition is not in a position to try to call for new elections because there are not enough people who could vote for such a thing," Arifaj emphasizes.

As she points out, Kosovo has no new political hopes.

"For almost twenty years now, Kosovo has more or less recycled the same politicians, and almost all the political parties that exist have already tried and have been in power in one way or another, in a coalition or without a coalition, mostly in a coalition. The last hope, in a way, was the Self-Determination Movement. Now the Self-Determination Movement has been in power for three years, and there is a little over a year until the new elections, but unfortunately, there are no new political hopes," Arifaj says.

The fact that the Self-Determination Movement received the majority of votes in the last elections, according to Arifaj, meant that citizens had great trust in that party and Kurti.

"Unfortunately, citizens of Kosovo are still facing the same problems. There have not been so many significant changes; the problems are the same concerning the lack of economic development, education, and healthcare; unemployment is significant. As of January 1, when Kosovo citizens will be able to travel to the Schengen zone without visas, there is a fear that a lot of citizens will try to stay in one of these countries, so I don't think there is hope that anything will change regardless of who is in power. We have not had the emergence of new parties, so if new elections were held tomorrow or in a year, people would have more or less the same choices for whom they can vote," Arifaj pointed out.