LDK reacts to delay in appointing CEC members

The LDK through a media statement has announced that these days, LDK Parliamentary Group chief Avdullah Hoti has accepted a request by the director of the Department for Juridical Affairs and International Relations under the president's Office for nominating a member of the CEC from the LDK ranks.

Even though, according to the LDK, in the past such demands for parliamentary groups have always been addressed by the country's president to conform the Constitution and relevant legislation.

This party has counted some criticism of President Hashim Thaci on the occasion of delays in naming members of the CEC.

The Democratic League of Kosovo estimates that:

President Thaci, despite the legal deadline for appointing members of the CEC, according to which, not later than sixty (60) days after the Certificate of the election results for the Assembly, which were certified on July 8, 2017, has not yet appointed the new composition of the Central Election Commission, with which a permanent and independent constitutional institution has blocked. In order to procrastinate even more of this process, and with the desire to preserve the current composition of the CEC, which is in favour of the current ruling coalition, President Thaci, the issue of the countries' division in the CEC has referred to the interpretation of the Constitutional Court, which, as seen by the Court's decision, under which his request has been rejected, such a demand has been quite unreasonable and unnecessary.

Thus, by prolonging this process for almost a year and a half, as a result, by thoroughly defuncting the CEC, the president has acted in flagrant opposition to the country's Constitution and its responsibilities defined in this act, under which the president guarantees the constitutional functioning of constitutional institutions defined by the constitution.

Whatever the case, the Democratic League of Kosovo considers that, the issue of the countries' division of the Central Election Commission has clearly regulated the country's Constitution, and this issue in no case can be addressed as a matter of one's will for determining the number of political subjects in the CEC, even the president's.

Therefore, given the outcome of the Kosovo Assembly elections in 2017, conform relevant constitutional and legal provisions and the spirit of the Constitutional Court's interpretation about parliamentary groups in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (Rast No. KOU9/14), the Democratic League of Kosovo estimates countries at the Central Election Commission should be divided among three political subjects, which as such have emerged from the elections: the coalition PAN, the Vetevendosje party and the coalition that the LDK represents.

In this way, the Democratic League of Kosovo belongs to two members of the CEC, whose names will soon be sent to the president for their final appointment. The Democratic League of Kosovo is strongly determined not to allow the violation of its representation in an institution of importance such as the CEC and will protect its right to representation in this institution through all legal and democratic ways.