Gogic: Kosovo has entered an institutional crisis; opposition showed that Kurti does not have a majority

Kosovo has entered an institutional crisis and found itself in a situation that no one expected. In the short term, the opposition has benefited from the suspension of yesterday's constitutive parliamentary session because it demonstrated that the leader of the Self-Determination Movement, Albin Kurti, despite winning the most seats, does not have a majority, political analyst Ognjen Gogic told Kosovo Online.

"Before the session began, it was expected to see whether Kurti had a majority to elect the speaker of parliament, which would then suggest there is a majority for forming a government. All eyes were on that. No one expected the twist that occurred, the assembly failed to constitute itself," Gogic emphasized.

He explained that the situation, in which MPs refused to verify their own mandates, is entirely new and came "like a bolt from the blue," catching everyone unprepared.

"This showed that Kurti does not have the majority needed to elect the speaker of parliament, because if he did, that majority would have revealed itself during the vote on mandate verification. However, the opposition’s decision not to vote to verify their own mandates is also surprising, they justified it by claiming that the outgoing government did not resign properly, which could lead to a future crisis if the Constitutional Court rules that voting for the new government was unconstitutional," Gogic said.

He clarified that the situation has entered a phase for which there is virtually no clear solution.

"This is a legal vacuum, there are no rules for what happens when MPs refuse to confirm their own mandates, because that possibility isn’t even accounted for. A vote is supposed to happen, but it’s considered more of a technicality, not a substantive political or legal dilemma," he added.

In the current situation, the pause in constituting the Kosovo parliament can last a maximum of 48 hours.

"Within that time, a solution must be defined, how to proceed. Is it even possible to bring this issue back to a vote, or have we entered a constitutional and legal crisis where the previous parliament’s mandate has expired and the new one hasn't been constituted?" Gogic emphasized.

He believes that sooner or later, the Constitutional Court will have to respond.

Gogic stressed that the current situation benefits no one, although in the short term the opposition has gained an advantage.

"This is a derogation of institutions and could potentially backfire on any political side that emerges as the winner in the government formation process, because the Constitutional Court may later find that certain errors were made that cannot be legally accepted. Politically, this favors the opposition because it exposed that Kurti does not have a majority. Only 52 MPs voted to confirm the mandates, which is far from the 61 needed to elect the speaker and the government," the analyst said.

On the other hand, the opposition could be criticized for showing disrespect to the parliament by not voting to confirm their own mandates.

"Therefore, they share responsibility for the crisis that has arisen. In the short term, this might be seen as a victory for the opposition, but on the other hand, everyone has lost, and Kosovo has entered a new crisis," Gogic said.