Haxhiu turns to the Constitutional Court

Acting President of Kosovo Albulena Haxhiu turned to the Constitutional Court, asking for clarification on who may exercise presidential powers after her six-month term expires if the Assembly does not elect a new president, Radio Free Europe reported.

The deadline for electing the president of Kosovo expires at midnight.

“We asked for clarification on how and by whom the necessary presidential powers are to be exercised after the expiry of the six-month period, when a new president has still not been elected,” the president’s office told RFE.

They added that Haxhiu submitted the request to the Constitutional Court yesterday, October 5, citing Article 113, paragraph 3, subparagraph 1 of the Constitution.

“The Constitution grants authority to the president. Determining which body may exercise that authority under the given circumstances is one of the main issues we have raised before the Court,” the president’s office added in its response.

It was also stated that a constitutional solution must be found that would allow elections to be called and held within the prescribed deadlines.

Asked by RFE how they interpret this situation, the response said their position is based on the principle of “institutional continuity.”

“The constitutional provisions must be interpreted in conjunction with one another so that the expiry of the mandate does not prevent the fulfillment of other constitutional obligations,” it added.

Precisely in order to find a solution that would guarantee such continuity within the constitutional order, the matter was referred to the Constitutional Court.

Radio Free Europe contacted the Constitutional Court to confirm receipt of the request and obtain more details about how it would be handled, but is still awaiting a response.

A few days ago, Haxhiu said she was considering referring the matter to the Constitutional Court if Kosovo did not get a president with a full mandate, while interlocutors in an analysis by Kosovo Online pointed out that there are several gaps in the legislation that the judges could “patch up.”