Deputies' involvement in local election race will impede Assembly work

The law does not prevent MPs or ministers from being part of the race for local elections and until they are certified for the mandate they have been competing for, they hold the other post in institutions simultaneously.

Kosovo's autumn session of the Parliament and the election campaign will begin in the third week of September, but the Executive Director of the FOL Movement, Mejide Demolli-Niman, estimates that the politicians' commitment to the election campaign will interfere with the work in the Assembly.

“It's going to be a challenge when you know it's a fair choice, the election campaign lasts 30 days and it really knows it's a challenge, not only with the side of the Assembly, but it's the same with the ministers who run for mayors, and their work is going to be a Monday until they release the current position for campaigning only, plus here it's growing with the pandemic that's unfortunately alarming as regards the number of infected, so we have a very large number of dead, so it's not going to be managed as well, but it's going to be seen that's going to interfere with the development of the normal 27x-Domani says.

While Emir Abrashi from Democracy Plus says the lack of deputies in parliamentary commissions and sessions will be added during the election campaign period.

All parties indiscriminately, even those of position and opposition, aim to gain as many municipalities as possible, or at least go to co-governance after runoff in most municipalities, so the executive will certainly be more sleepy in this period... The parties should also take into account the interest of citizens before taking action, but beyond the interest of citizens they should bear in mind that some of the laws are laws that directly affect the relations of the Republic of Kosovo with other states, so in such cases they should be serious and should not avoid the Parliament with the reason that they are in the campaign. Citizens on February 14th have voted for change, and this change is made by executives and legislatures, and local elections are not the change for which it was voted on February 14th”, Abrashi says.

Apart from deputies from the Vetevendosje Movement, P The DK, the AAK's LDK, in the race for local elections is also the minister of health, for what has been criticised for this decision at the time when the country is facing large numbers of infected persons with Covid-19.

“Unedemic situation should be a priority as to the government as to the assembly, we are not seeing such a thing, and we have the minister of health who has competed for candidates in Pristina municipal elections, so it is a challenge in itself that it will be a priority health priority or his running for mayor of the Pristina municipality, this only has been seen, decided to be minister until the election case if eventually elected”, Demoli-Niman adds.

The election campaign begins on September 16th and lasts a month as local elections are held on October 17th.