The lack of a political agreement on the election of a new President is bringing Kosovo closer to another critical institutional moment.
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Analyst Gani Qarri says that without an agreement among the parliamentary parties, the country could once again enter a process of early elections. According to him, the constitutional situation remains unclear and requires a political solution.
Qarri warns that the six-month period during which Albulena Haxhiu has been serving as Acting President is coming to an end. He stresses that if the political parties in the Assembly fail to reach common ground on the election of a new President by October 4, Kosovo could face another institutional crisis.
According to him, new elections can be avoided by electing a consensus President. The analyst believes that the Constitutional Court’s latest decision leaves room for such a solution, if the political entities reach an agreement.
Qarri adds that after the expiry of the six-month deadline, any continuation of the exercise of the duties of the country’s President would be contrary to the Constitution.
In his analysis, he also links the political deadlock to developments in the justice system. Qarri claims that the adoption of the law on the Bureau for the Confiscation of Unlawfully Acquired Assets may have affected certain interests and influenced the positions of some political actors.
“A law that provides for there to be no more pardons, nor for sentences to be imposed on potential defendants,” he says, referring also to several specific court proceedings.
The analyst criticizes several decisions by the justice system and specifically mentions the case of Pal Lekaj, as well as the sentence related to the €53 million case.
Qarri believes that changes in the justice system and the strengthening of mechanisms for confiscating unlawfully acquired assets could affect how cases of corruption and illicit wealth are handled.
He also claims that some people may have an interest in keeping the institutions dysfunctional, as this would give them more time to delay legal proceedings.
In this context, he also mentions a statement made by American diplomat James Rubin in 2013. Qarri interprets it as a warning about the removal of the so-called “war wing” from politics.
According to the analyst, failure to follow this advice has brought long-term consequences for Kosovo. He accuses several political figures, particularly from the PDK and AAK, of “knowingly continuing to obstruct” the functioning of the institutions, while, in his view, personal and group interests are being placed above state interests.
Speaking about the former leaders of the KLA who are in The Hague, Qarri describes the situation as a decisive moment for Kosovo. He says that the establishment of stable institutions would also be important for legal matters related to the Specialist Chambers.
“This is the decisive moment for the Assembly to reach a consensus on the election of an acceptable figure as President of the country,” Qarri declares.
He warns that the parties’ failure to reach an agreement could return Kosovo to a cycle of early elections without addressing the problems that caused the crisis.
“Kosovo once again risks facing institutional deadlock and the serial repetition of new early elections,” Qarri says. According to him, a new electoral process “is realistically once again not expected to bring a solution to the existing problems.”
In conclusion, the analyst raises concerns that the Constitution does not sufficiently clarify what happens if the Assembly fails to elect the President even after the end of the six-month period.
Qarri warns that such a scenario could produce “a state of emergency, unlike anything that has ever occurred before.” In his view, the functioning of the institutions is essential for Kosovo’s stability and state-building.
