​Certification of election results, when can Osmani call the session to constitute the assembly?

The certification of the final results of the December 28 elections has paved the way for the convening of the constitutive session of the Kosovo Assembly. According to legal deadlines, the country's president, Vjosa Osmani, is obliged to convene the constitutive session within 30 days of the certification of the election results.

Once the constitutive session is scheduled, the assembly's work monitors say that the previous assembly leadership should meet to agree on the course of the session and the manner of electing the assembly's president and vice-presidents. They state that this is the moment when it should be decided whether the president should be elected by open or secret ballot.

Researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), Eugen Cakolli, tells KosovaPress that after certifying the results, President Osmani should ensure that the constitutive session is scheduled about five days in advance, so that the previous presidency of the assembly, through the speaker of the previous legislature, can summon the representatives of the parliamentary parties that have won mandates and prepare the agenda for the session.

"The president of the country has a legal obligation to convene the constitutive meeting of the assembly, a meeting that must be held within thirty days of the certification of the results. This means that from the day of certification there are thirty days in total when all procedures must be carried out, including holding the preparatory meeting, holding the constitutive session and concluding it based on last year's verdict. This means that the president will convene the constitutive session and must ensure that there will be approximately five days in advance from the moment of its appointment, so that the previous presidency, Mr. Basha, in the capacity of the president of the previous legislature, can summon the representatives of the parliamentary parties that have won mandates and prepare the agenda," he says.

Meanwhile, researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute, Naim Jakaj, believes that the agenda of the constitutive session is standardized and should not be subject to political interpretations.

According to him, any attempt to move to a secret ballot for the election of the speaker of the assembly requires prior agreement, but does not constitute preferred practice.

Jakaj emphasizes that transparency in voting should remain a fundamental principle of the functioning of the assembly, adding that procedural points, such as verification of the quorum, verification of mandates, and the election of the president and vice-presidents, should not become a source of constitutional or legal disputes.

"The agenda is standard, it should not deviate from previous practices. In case it should be done by secret ballot, there should be an agreement at that meeting on the speaker of the assembly. We as IKL do not prefer an agreement of political parties to go by secret ballot. The standard should be preserved as sacred, because the deputies should vote transparently for a speaker who will lead them in sessions and will represent the Assembly outside the Republic of Kosovo. Therefore, the standard points that come from the verification of the quorum and mandates and the voting of the speaker and deputy speakers should not become a problem or issue of contesting constitutionality and legality," he emphasizes.

The Central Election Commission certified the final results on February 9. KosovaPressi has also contacted the Information Office of the Assembly of Kosovo about when the presidency meeting will be called, but they have said that the public will be informed in time about any developments. Meanwhile, the president's office has not indicated when they will call the constitutive session of the assembly.