Kosovo risks new elections, cause of demarcation with Montenegro

Political affairs analyst Artan Muhhaxhiri says there is not a single meaning for this issue to be postponed further.

In fact, from the statements of policymakers in Kosovo, such as Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and Prime Minister Kadri Veselini, the impression is that there is now an agreement with the Serbian List for missing votes, so there is no point for this process to continue beyond next week”.

If, eventually, no demarcation is approved, there is no point in this Government staying and going to new elections. The issue is vital to Haradinaj's governance, to ratify this demarcation and to proceed with the European agenda”, Mujajiri says.

New elections have also warned the Democratic League of Kosovo.

The head of the LDK Parliamentary Group, Avdullah Hoti, at a news conference held this week, has said that as long as the Kosovo Parliamentary Assembly hearings are not conducted normally and in most cases the parliamentary majority is not taking part in the vote, the country must go to the polls.

“Four parliamentary sessions are open in the inability to close because the ruling coalition is disbanded. In this situation when the parliamentary majority abandons the Parliament, new elections are the only solution to the situation. After the demarcation vote, the government must resign, Parliament must be distributed and we must go to new elections and a new parliamentary majority leading Kosovo into Euro-Atlantic integration” is formed, Hoti has said.

Ratification of the agreement for demarcation of the border line with Montenegro, which failed to close this week, as was warned by the country's political leaders, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli, is expected to receive an epilogue in the week we are entering.

Political leaders have already been declared that in the next week this agreement will be ratified.

The ruling coalition in three parliamentary sessions had failed to secure the necessary majority of votes to ratify the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro

The ratification of this agreement requires at least 80 deputies' votes from 120 as long as Kosovo's Assembly is concerned.

Analyst Artan Mujariri says that to secure even two or three votes to ratify the demarcation, a much larger deal will be required, and compromises will have to be made.

Under all indicators, the completion of the demarcation approval process will be a much larger and much more complex agreement than expected. Very important factors are likely to be involved. So, there will have to be a lot of compromises, and for that reason even important political factors will be included”, Muhramir estimates.

Days ago in a reaction published by the Serbian List, the topic of demarcation reportedly does not exist and does not present any interest.

According to this reaction, which has been addressed to the media, the demarcation issue must be resolved by Kosovo Albanian parties.

But for political affairs analyst Ramush Tahiri, ratification of demarcation cannot be achieved without the Serbian List votes. He, in a proposal given days ago for Radio Free Europe, has said demarcation cannot be passed without agreement with MPs from the Serbian List.

No agreement with the Serbian List can pass demarcation. The Serbian list, although part of the coalition, sees its party interest and links it with the Association of Serb municipalities (with Serb majority), but also with the political situation in Serbia and with the position of President Aleksandar Vuciq in Serbia's dialogue with Kosovo, and with what is a project of Serbia for Kosovo that has been warned that by April a proposal will be drawn by President Vucih”, Tahiri has said.

The border demarcation agreement with Montenegro was signed in August 2015 in Vienna. As such, this agreement was ratified by Montenegro's Assembly, but not by Kosovo's.

The European Commission has made it clear that without ratification of the demarcation, Kosovo will not be included in the free movement area within the EU, without visas. Officials from the ongoing European Union are demanding that institutions not delay in meeting the criteria, if they aim at visa liberalisation in a faster term.