Cakolli: In the most optimal scenario, the government could be formed in April

Eugen Cakolli, an associate of the Kosovo Democratic Institute, told Kosovo Online that, in the most optimal scenario, all results from the elections held on February 9 could be certified by mid-March. This would mean that the constitutive session of the Assembly should take place by the end of March. In such an ideal scenario, he says, the government could be formed at the beginning of April or, at the latest, by mid-April.

"However, if we do not have a new government by the end of April, then new, extraordinary elections will have to be called, which should take place by early June, that is, within 40 days, as prescribed by law and the Constitution," Cakolli stated.

He pointed out that although there are strict deadlines for forming the government, they do not start counting until the Assembly is constituted. Moreover, there is no deadline in the prescribed procedure for the winning party to propose a candidate for the Speaker of the Assembly.

Considering the current pace of the Central Election Commission in counting candidate votes and verifying votes of political entities, Cakolli expects this process to be completed by the end of February. After that, political parties will have the opportunity to file complaints with the Appeals Panel and the Supreme Court, a process that could take up to ten days. As he further explains, this means that, in the most optimal scenario, all election results could be certified by mid-March.

According to the law, he adds, once the results are confirmed, the President of Kosovo must convene the constitutive session of the Assembly within 30 days. At this session, the parliament is required to elect its Speaker and Deputy Speakers. However, following a Constitutional Court ruling in 2014, there is no deadline for the winning party to propose a candidate for the Speaker of the Assembly. He recalls that in 2014, this process lasted around six months.

"Therefore, without the constitution of the Assembly, other legal deadlines, including government formation, do not start counting. This means that if, in this case, Self-Determination does not propose someone for Speaker of the Assembly, the entire process is paused, and further deadlines do not begin. Once the Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected, strict deadlines apply. At that point, the President must give the mandate to the winning party, and the person with the mandate for Prime Minister must present the government lineup to the Kosovo Assembly within 15 days of receiving the mandate from the President of Kosovo," Cakolli explained.

If this does not happen, the President of Kosovo has ten days to consult political parties again and propose a second candidate, who may be from the same party or another party if they can prove they have 61 votes.

"The second candidate, in this case, again has 15 days to propose a new government composition. If this fails, extraordinary elections must be held within 40 days after the government is not elected," Cakolli explained.