Vote recount, these could be the consequences of the delay in the formation of institutions
The recount of votes due to the manipulation of votes of candidates for deputy is expected to postpone the certification of the final results of the parliamentary elections of December 28. This, according to experts on electoral processes, will affect delays in the formation of new institutions, even jeopardizing the timely approval of the draft budget for 2026, the approval of international agreements, and also raising dilemmas in the timely election of the country's president.
Due to the non-approval of the 2026 budget, the incumbent government is using the previous year's budget for the months of January and February, but a decision by the Assembly is needed for March.
Researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), Eugen Cakolli, tells KosovaPress that based on the current dynamics of the recount and the foreseen legal deadlines, the certification of the election results could occur around mid-February or at the latest by the end of this month.
According to him, this could limit the possibility of holding the constitutive session of the Assembly within February to pave the way for the formation of the new government. He also raises concerns about possible delays in calling the session to vote on the president.
The mandate of President Vjosa Osmani ends on April 4, 2026. According to the Constitution of Kosovo, a new president must be elected no later than 30 days before the end of the current president's mandate, which means by March 4, 2026.
"With such dynamics, perhaps the most optimal and optimistic version in the current situation is that the results can be certified sometime in mid-February, while if there are complaints and other potential decisions by the ECAP or the Supreme Court, there is a risk that we will not have certification of the results until the end of February. The first consequence, normally and most direct, is the limitation of the possibility for the constitutive session to be called and held in order to vote on the constitution of the Assembly, the election of the government and the budget within February, which means that potential payments that were foreseen to occur at the beginning of March cannot occur. Because after the announcement of the final results, there is 30 days to constitute the Assembly, and although the president can immediately call the meeting, there is a deadline at least based on the regulation of up to 5 days that is needed to prepare the constitutive session. Which means that we are already entering the deadlines for concluding the procedures related to "The Assembly, the budget, international agreements and then also for the president. This risks plunging the country into both a political crisis and a constitutional vacuum, because if the president is not elected by March 5, then we are already in constitutional violation," he says.
Naim Jakaj from the Kosovo Law Institute also addresses the same concern. He tells KosovaPress that if the certification of the results is delayed until the end of February, there should be a commitment to have the vote on the new government take place on the same day as the constitution of the Assembly.
"If we go to mid-February or late February, the situation will be more or less the same, where we will be faced with situations where at the end of February, there will be no salaries for public sector workers for the month of March. Because a government would have to be voted on that sends the budget law for the current year and for this vote to take place with an accelerated procedure. In this case, if the election results happen to be certified in mid-February or at the end of the month, then the president, for as long as she has a mandate, will have to call the constitutive session sooner than last time. Even when it is called (the constitutive session), within 30 days the presidency will need to call the representatives of the political parties within 5 days in order to prepare the agenda. So, the president would have to be activated very quickly when the election results are certified, so that the Assembly can be constituted and the Government can be formed on the same day," he declares.
To avoid delays in the execution of salaries in the public sector in the event of the budget not being voted on in time, Cakolli says that the incumbent government will attempt to distribute salaries at the end of February to avoid risks.
According to him, the main problem will be in the distribution of allowances, pensions during the month of March, as well as payments that the state or certain municipalities have entered into contractual obligations.
"I believe that an attempt will be made to distribute salaries as such at the end of February in order to avoid the risks of further delays. The main problems may arise in relation to the distribution of allowances, other pensions, which are not received on the last day of the month as is usually the case. Moreover, perhaps an even bigger problem is the issue of distribution or payments for contracts in which the state has entered into obligations, or certain municipalities, which cannot be paid and if there are other unreasonable delays, there is a risk that the state will also pay penalties or interest due to the delay in the payment of these funds that were foreseen", emphasizes Cakolli.
The Central Election Commission has decided to conduct a full recount of all votes in polling stations in 28 municipalities. Previously, in these 28 municipalities, the CEC had decided to recount only 10 percent of polling stations, while in 10 other municipalities it decided to conduct a full recount. The decision of January 19 comes after large differences were observed in the votes for the candidates for deputies in the early parliamentary elections of December 28, 2025.
