Albin Kurt's letter to the president, what's behind it?

After the January 6th historic meeting among long-standing political opponents, which the confrontation was deemed without legal effects, the first state mentioned the 48-hour deadline Kurti gave to propose the mandater for chief executive.

After a few days, Thaci wrote again to Kurt, saying he is expecting from him the mandate's name for forming government, or refusing to do so.

On the other hand, the first VV in the last letter has told Thaci that it cannot be pressured to form the new Kosovo executive, adding that coalition negotiations with the LDK are in the last phase.

Regarding these developments, political analyst Imer Mushkolaj tells Kosovo Gazeta Life that Thaci's letters to VV chairman Kurti are political and that they have no legal and no constitutional basis.

“On the other hand, the LDK and Vetevendosje are still failing to create the government coalition, so I just don't understand why in such a situation, he sends such letters in view of the actual situation on the ground”, he has indicated.

Mushkolaj does not believe that President Kurti's last letter will push him to speed up the coalition's achievement.

This is because it does not depend on one side but depends on both sides. Even this letter from Kurt to the president I saw as in vain, in that there is no need for Kurti or anyone else to remind the president of his constitutional responsibilities, they are precisely defined in the Constitutions. I had to work with LDK in order to give them an answer, however, whether they're at the event to create the coalition or not”, the analyst stressed.

On the other hand, Arbere Loja of the Group for Jury and Political Studies (GLPS) tells JNK that they understand the president's urgency and his willingness to fulfil his constitutional role in order to ensure the democratic functioning of institutions.

However, Loxha points out that at this stage the president does not enjoy any authority to set constitutional deadlines for the winning party, much less to have an active role in the middle.

“Recall that at this stage the president's role is only ceremonial, however, we as GLPS call on the two parties, which are in the process of reaching an agreement on the ruling coalition to intensify efforts to reach an agreement since it is necessary to consolidate institutions” quickly, Loja added.

She has said that Kosovo does not have the luxury of having elections every two years and facing institutional crises, which she says are taking approximately six months.

The pressure that made other election winners

Unlike the current case, when the president is demanding that the winning party forward the mandate name for prime minister, it was the time of the 2014 and 2017 national elections.

After the June 8, 2014, the institutional political crisis in Kosovo had lasted six months.

PDK on one side and the post-election coalition consisting of LDK- LVV- AAK-Nisma on the other hand, were immersed in the race to take leadership positions, delaying to establish central institutions.

The crisis was unblocked after the LDK emerged from the so-called coalition V LAN to join The PDK, then led by Hashim Thaci, to form the government, and under the agreement, Thaci would then become president in 2016, after carrying out Atifete Jahjaga's mandate.

Amid the political crisis, Thaci's predecessor, Atifete Jahjaga, had launched by inviting all political parties to meetings for overcoming the situation, but that she had not set the deadlines for forming new institutions.

On September 7th 2017, Kosovo Assembly deputies had chosen the first PDK, Kadri Veselin, chairman of the legislature, to end the 35-day blockade of institutions after the June 11th elections that year.

That situation was created after disagreements between the winning coalition, over the division of government leadership positions.

In this regard, Imer Mushkolaj points out that at the time, the president of S dealt with the coalition between the PDK, AAK and the Social Democrat Initiative, known as PAN.

“Let's not forget that such presidential letters have not been seen before in 2017, when the coalition was expected to be created PAN then, we have not seen the president send a letter to Ramush Haradinaj, even though he had received enough time to establish the coalition”, he says.

But this, according to Mushkolajt, does not mean that LVV and LDK should not work to create the coalition.

“Instead they must reach agreement as soon as possible if they are serious. Because this way, in the first place, they are frustrated their own voters, but also other Kosovo citizens, who have always waited based on their promises that the coalition will soon become”, the political analyst says.

These two political subjects this beginning of the year have intensified meetings at the level of party leaders, as an effort for a final agreement on co-government, but still without results.

Meanwhile, the Kosovo Constitution in Article 95 stipulates that after the elections, the president of the Republic of Kosovo proposes the candidate for prime minister to the coalition, in consultation with the political party or the coalition that has won the necessary majority in the Assembly to form Government.

Taking to point 2 of the same article is said to be “Candidate for Prime Minister, not later than 15.15) days after the appointment, represents the composition of the government before the Kosovo Assembly and requires approval by the Parliament”.