Maliqi: Whether they like it or not, Self-Determination must accept the Constitutional Court’s decision

Political analyst Shkelzen Maliqi stated that the decision of the Constitutional Court is final and that, after it, the Self-Determination Movement has the option either to try to form a “weak coalition” or to go into snap elections, aware that it is losing voter support. He also questioned how many votes Albin Kurti would win in repeat elections, noting that “when the water is stagnant, it clears up when the wind blows.”

“There is no other arbiter. The judge has ruled, whether you like it or not. You asked for it, and there is no other mechanism. So Self-Determination either has to calm down and accept it, because it clearly does not have the votes either to elect the speaker of parliament, which is a condition for the process to move forward, or to form a government,” Maliqi told Kosovo Online.

Commenting on the new series of constitutive sessions which, according to the Constitutional Court’s decision, cannot last longer than 30 days and in which MPs have only three attempts to elect a new speaker through public voting, Maliqi said this procedure must be respected, and it is up to Self-Determination to secure a sufficient majority.

“They have 48 MPs, but that is not enough to be in power the way they were before,” Maliqi explained.

He pointed out that, given the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is determined not to enter such a coalition, and a majority with minority parties is difficult to achieve, Self-Determination’s only remaining option is a coalition with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

“Which, in a way, undermines Kurti’s entire concept. He was against that government, against Hashim Thaci, and now the question is what would happen if they formed a coalition,” the analyst said.

He sees the solution either in a “weak government” or repeat elections.

Maliqi is also convinced that for Self-Determination leader Albin Kurti it is important to “clear up” the situation, given that local elections are due in Kosovo in October.

“In October, there are local elections, and by then, he will clear up the question of support. Last time, Kurti did catastrophically in the local elections. He won three or four municipalities. Clearly he is losing support, and this period of vacuum has made some people more aware,” Maliqi said.

He also noted that the Self-Determination leader boasts about having won more than 50 percent of the vote in the last elections, but that 100,000 votes came from Vjosa Osmani and former LDK voters.

“That’s the contingent of votes that ‘shifts.’ In the last elections, the LDK did better, so the situation has to clear up. When the water is stagnant, it clears when a wind blows,” Maliqi concluded.