If a political agreement is not reached in the coming period for the election of the Deputy Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly from the Serbian community, the institutional blockade may return during efforts to confirm the new institutions.
This is what Kadri Kryeziu, a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, told Radio Free Europe, emphasizing that this is now a political issue, not a legal one.
Vullnet Bugaqku, from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, does not rule out the possibility of a new institutional blockade, as representatives of the Vetëvendosje Movement, according to him, "interpret the Constitutional Court's decision differently."
"I do not exclude the possibility that they could very easily grab onto a word, part of the text or any provision of the decision and intentionally interpret it incorrectly, just as they did during the 56 sessions of the constitution of the Assembly last year," Bugaqku tells Radio Free Europe.
On January 28, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the election of Nenad Rašić as Serbian Deputy Speaker of the Assembly in the previous legislature, made through a draw, was not in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
The court emphasized that the right to nominate a candidate belongs to the party that has won the majority of seats reserved for the Serb community - in this case, the Serbian List, which had nine out of ten mandates.
This party - the largest of the Serbs in Kosovo, which has the support of Belgrade - won nine seats again in the early parliamentary elections on December 28, while Nenad Rašić, leader of the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival, won one seat.
The institutional blockade could return if Albin Kurti's Vetevendosje Movement, which won the last elections, continues to refuse any cooperation with the Serb List, while the Serb List refuses to nominate Rašić.
The Serbian List believes that Rašić entered the Kosovo Assembly with the support of the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, and considers him an "illegitimate" representative of Serbs.
Is there a chance for an agreement?
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty requested comment on the Constitutional Court's decision and the possibility of an agreement from both Nenad Rašić and the Serbian List, as well as the Vetëvendosje Movement, but, by the time of publication of this article, had not received any response.
Mimoza Kusari Lila declared that the parliamentary group of the Vetëvendosje Movement, of which she is a member, will not vote for the candidates of the Serbian List until all details of the full decision of the Constitutional Court are reviewed and the proper way of electing the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from the Serbian community is determined - including candidate Nenad Rašić.
She emphasized that there are also previous decisions of the Constitutional Court that determine the procedures for constituting the Assembly.
Analysts say the future of the largest Serb party in Kosovo, which has the support of Belgrade, is unclear.
The decision of September last year established that the Kosovo Assembly cannot be constituted without the election of the deputy speaker from the Serbian community, unless the process is deliberately obstructed - in that case, the Assembly can only function with a quorum for decision-making.
However, the court explained at the time that in the specific case, the process was not intentionally blocked, as the failure to elect a vice-president from the minority community was attributed to the Albanian majority.
The year 2025 was considered a lost legislative year, because Kosovo did not have new institutions and the intervention of the Constitutional Court was sometimes needed to interpret situations.
The year 2025 was considered a lost legislative year, because Kosovo did not have new institutions and the intervention of the Constitutional Court was sometimes needed to interpret situations.
Bugaqku evaluates Kusari Lila's statements as "completely unfounded and erroneous" and emphasizes that the last two decisions of the Constitutional Court were clear.
According to him, the Court explained that the blockage in the constitution of the Assembly was not caused by the failure to propose candidates from the Serbian List, but by the fact that deputies from the Albanian community did not vote.
"Also, according to the Constitutional Court, they have not respected either the verdict, the Constitution, or the constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo itself, by not voting for the candidates proposed by the group that is the majority of the Serbian community," says Bugaqku.
He adds that Albanian MPs from all political parties in the Assembly do not have the right to dictate how a community will be represented in the Presidency of the Assembly.
Kosovo faced a deep institutional and political crisis following the February 9 elections last year, after Albanian parties failed to agree on the election of the speaker of the Assembly - which was followed by a blockade on the election of the deputy speaker by the Serb community.
The snap elections were announced after two candidates from the Vetëvendosje Movement - Albin Kurti and Glauk Konjufca - failed to secure a sufficient number of votes to form a new government.
The parties have appealed to the Constitutional Court several times, but, according to Bugaqku, it still remains unclear what legal consequences the deputies will face if the Assembly is not constituted within the legal deadline of 30 days.
Currently, the recount of votes from the December 28 elections continues and after the process is completed, the creation of new institutions is expected to begin.
Initially, the recount process began only in a few municipalities, then the decision was made for all of them.
Previously, the Vetëvendosje Movement requested from the Constitutional Court that the requests of the Serbian List regarding the constitution of the Assembly be declared inadmissible.
The leader of Vetëvendosje, Albin Kurti, has also stated that the Constitutional Court is acting unilaterally, favoring Albanian parties that have been in opposition.
The Constitutional Court has reacted, emphasizing that its independence and impartiality are guaranteed by the Constitution and that no institution, political party or individual can interfere in its work.
Previously, several Western countries and the European Union have called on political representatives and institutions in Kosovo to respect the Constitutional Court and its decisions, acknowledging that the independence of the judiciary is the foundation of the rule of law./REL
