Milenkovic: Even the ruling party is not satisfied with Basha’s election as Speaker of Parliament

Marko Milenkovic, associate of the NGO New Social Initiative, assessed that the negative reactions to the election of Dimal Basha reflect not only the lack of political consensus among all parties, but also the fact that even the Self-Determination Movement itself is not satisfied with his election as Speaker of Parliament.

“I believe that Self-Determination, above all, is not satisfied with Basha as Speaker, because there are different viewpoints there. We have not even seen official congratulations, and we know that Self-Determination is a political entity that has brought together different profiles of people, so the question is whether consensus exists around him,” Milenkovic told Kosovo Online.

He added that other political parties also lack consensus on his election, recalling that the PDK voted “in favor” because he was a “somewhat acceptable candidate” for them, while the LDK declared that Basha was a “completely unacceptable candidate.”

“We also saw discontent from former KLA actors. There is even suspicion that Basha could provoke divisions based on religious affiliations and positions he held in the past. There are potential risks regarding Basha’s election and how he could build consensus within that political spectrum,” Milenkovic noted.

He emphasized, however, that Basha’s election is not “the main issue,” since the question of constituting the parliament remains unresolved.

“We still have no progress in electing a deputy speaker from the Serbian community, which is both a constitutional obligation and a prerequisite for the further steps toward constituting and functioning of the Assembly as the main legislative body. We see that within this main legislative body many laws, principles, and even the Constitution are being violated. This sends, in every sense, a negative message—not only to all communities in Kosovo, but also about Kosovo’s image as an actor both in the region and within the international community,” Milenkovic concluded.