Bugacku: Such an Assembly has never been seen before in Kosovo, the region, perhaps even Europe

Vullnet Bugacku of the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) assessed that the current political and institutional situation in Kosovo was unprecedented, pointing to the disputed constitution of the Assembly and the potential consequences for the functioning of institutions.

In an interview with Klan Kosova, Bugacku said that there were grounds for referring the matter to the Constitutional Court, particularly because of what he described as a violation of the statutory 30 percent gender quota on electoral lists, which calls into question the legitimacy of the parliament and the mandates of its MPs.

“I believe there are sufficient grounds for referring this matter to the Constitutional Court, particularly the issue of the violation of the 30 percent quota, insofar as this prevents clarification or determination of whether this parliament is legitimate or not, that is, whether the mandates of the members of the Assembly are legitimate or not,” he said.

As Koha previously reported, the 30 percent quota for the representation of women in the Kosovo Assembly was introduced in 2000 through a UNMIK regulation stipulating that women must account for at least 30 percent of candidates on electoral lists. In practice, the quota is also applied when allocating seats: if women do not win at least 30 percent of the seats secured by a particular political entity, the last elected male candidate may be replaced by the next female candidate on the list.

Vullnet Bugacku also addressed the possibility of the Constitutional Court imposing an interim measure, which, according to him, could prevent further institutional consequences.

“I believe that a request for an interim measure should be submitted together with the request for constitutional review or an assessment of constitutionality,” Bugacku said.

He described the current legislature as an exceptional case, not only in Kosovo but also in the region.

“This is, so to speak, the most unprecedented legislature and situation to have occurred not only in Kosovo, but perhaps in the region and maybe even in Europe. I have neither seen nor read about, nor encountered cases in which a state—or rather, the MPs of that state—allow such a situation to develop and act in full awareness of an unconstitutional state of affairs, pursuing partisan or narrow political interests while jeopardizing the constitutional order and even Kosovo’s national security,” Bugacku said.