Serb List announces appeal to court over appointment of two deputy ministers without approval of majority of Serb MPs

The Serb List stated that the regime in Pristina continues to violate the Constitution to the detriment of the Serb people by the unconstitutional appointment of two deputy ministers of Serb nationality in the government of Albin Kurti, carried out without the consent of Serb MPs in the Assembly. It announced that its legal team, after analyzing all acts, will file an appeal with the Constitutional Court and request that these unlawful appointments be annulled.

“By this action, Article 96 of the Constitution has been directly violated, which clearly stipulates that the selection of ministers and deputy ministers from among communities that do not constitute the majority in Kosovo is carried out after consultations with parties, coalitions, or groups representing those communities. In cases where these officials are appointed outside the membership of the Kosovo Assembly, as is the case now, official approval by the majority of MPs belonging to parties, coalitions, civic initiatives, and independent candidates who have declared themselves as representatives of the relevant community is also required,” the statement says.

It is emphasized that by making these appointments without such consent, the government of Albin Kurti has once again shown that it does not respect either the constitutional order or the political will of the Serb people in Kosovo.

“Such unilateral moves represent a continuation of the practice of institutionally bypassing the legitimate representatives of the Serb community and further undermine trust in institutions. The legal team of the Serb List will, after analyzing all acts, file an appeal with the Constitutional Court and request that these unlawful appointments be annulled,” the statement adds.

The Serb List stressed that it will continue to insist on respect for the rights of the Serb people and the law, as well as that the rights of the Serb people and their legitimate representatives cannot be bypassed through political decisions and unilateral moves.

As a reminder, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti yesterday appointed Tijana Veljkovic as Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Kosovo and Igor Mitic as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Development.

Tijana Veljkovic and Igor Mitic were on the parliamentary list of Nenad Rasic’s party “For Freedom, Justice and Survival” in the parliamentary elections held on February 9 last year.
Kurti also yesterday appointed Lulzim Hetemi as Deputy Minister for Communities and Return under Nenad Rasic.

Hetemi previously served as mayor of Leposavic, to which he was elected in April 2023 in local elections that were boycotted by Serbs in the north.