Cakolli: Possible dates for new elections – November 30, December 7, or December 14

Analyst Eugen Cakolli of the Kosovo Democratic Institute believes that, following the failure to form a new government in Kosovo—and given the statements of most parliamentary parties that elections are the only way out—based on constitutional and legal deadlines, once the lack of a necessary majority to form the government is confirmed, the possible dates for new elections are November 30, December 7, and December 14, depending on the day the elections are officially announced.

Cakolli explained that after an unsuccessful vote for the government, the President of Kosovo is first obliged to consult with all parliamentary parties and coalitions in order to assess which one has the best chances of forming a majority in the Assembly.

“After completing consultations within ten days, the president must decide who will receive the second mandate to form the government. This is the most politically and legally sensitive period of the process. The Court clarified that the president does not have unlimited discretionary power—the decision must be based on the criterion of the ‘highest likelihood of forming a government’, regardless of whether that party is the (relative) winner of the elections. This mandate may again be given to the winning party (if it expresses readiness and realistic potential for a majority) or to any other party that presents concrete proof of support in the Assembly,” Cakolli wrote on Facebook.

He further explained that there is no prohibition against the same individual being nominated again in the second attempt, since the term “second candidate” refers only to the second procedural round, not a ban on reappointment.

Cakolli also discussed what happens if no party accepts the mandate, which, he said, appears to be the current situation.

“The Constitutional Court has been explicit on this issue, not excluding the possibility that parties might refuse to take the mandate. If that happens—meaning no entity expresses readiness to accept the second mandate—the process effectively loses its political purpose, and the president cannot delay the decision indefinitely. In such a situation, after determining the lack of will to form a government, the president has the right and constitutional obligation to dissolve the Assembly and call new elections, which must be held within 40 days of the dissolution,” he explained.