Milenkovic: No conditions for Kosovo to get a new mandate holder

Marko Milenkovic, associate of the NGO New Social Initiative, stated that without the election of a Serbian deputy speaker of parliament there are no conditions for Kosovo to obtain a new mandate holder, adding that the question remains how Vjosa Osmani will respond to the pressure from the Self-Determination Movement to nevertheless continue with the procedure.

“For Self-Determination, the only acceptable option is to proceed with the next steps, but it is clear that without a deputy speaker from the Serbian community this is not possible. In my opinion, the Assembly cannot be considered constituted at this point, and I believe the conditions have not been met to have a mandate holder in order to begin the procedure for forming a new government,” Milenkovic told Kosovo Online.

The newly elected Speaker of Parliament, Dimal Basha, met yesterday with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani.

In a statement released after the meeting, her office announced that she informed him that the Presidency’s legal team is conducting an analysis regarding the process of constituting the Assembly of Kosovo.

“We shall see how Vjosa Osmani will react to the pressures that will evidently come from Self-Determination to continue with the procedure. There is always the option for Osmani to once again address the Constitutional Court with a new request for interpretation,” Milenkovic noted.

He added that the question of the legitimacy of constituting the Kosovo Assembly is already before the Constitutional Court, since the Serb List has filed a complaint regarding the procedure for electing the deputy speaker from the Serbian community.

Milenkovic warned that until the Constitutional Court issues its decision, the Self-Determination Movement will “exert additional pressure” on all parliamentary parties, and especially on the Serb List.

“This opens the way for Self-Determination to apply additional pressure, to shift responsibility and blame onto other actors, primarily the Serb List, and we will not have a constructive approach, just as it was absent in the previous period,” Milenkovic said.

He is convinced that the Self-Determination Movement will “continue to interpret the laws and the Constitution in a way that suits them.”

“That to some extent reflects their entire previous mandate and their approach—to interpret laws, rules, and the Constitution in the way that benefits them, rather than to ensure a professional and equal legal approach that takes into account both the Serbian community and its positions, as well as those of other political actors and parties. Simply put, to view the entire political situation not in an autocratic, but in a democratic manner. This is what has been happening in the previous period, and I believe it will continue,” Milenkovic concluded.