Why is Hagi a source of trouble for the constitution?

Her name was put to the polls three times, but Albulen Haxhiu from the Vetevendosje (LVV) Movement in any case received the 61 votes needed to become Kosovo's chief parliament, reports REL, broadcast Periscope.

Haxhiu is considered by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and by the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) as a divisive figure, meanwhile, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) refuses to vote on any name proposed by the winner of the LVV parliamentary elections.

Is Haxhiu an obstacle or a pretext for failing to comply with the Kosovo Assembly?

Besar Grogi of the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GSLP) views both as possible motives.

“On one hand, they [political parties] seem to have some sort of comfort with the situation, and they don't care about the institution of the ninth legislature. But, on the other hand, they are also seen as having a dislike for the particular name of Mrs. Haxhiu”, Gergi says.

Haxhiu failed to get more than 57 parliamentary votes in the Assembly. Also necessary are the votes of party deputies who in the past legislature were in opposition.

The PDK and AAK demand that the LVV propose another name, representing unifying figures, in order to get their MPs' votes.

Party stances on Hadziu

The LVV refuses to change its proposal, arguing that Haxhiu is the most voted MP in the Assembly, with 125 thousand votes.

The political “Pes, the legitimacy of Mrs. Albulen Haxhiu to be Speaker of the Parliament, is incompatible”, LVV deputy Mimoza Kusari Lila told reporters after the break of the Parliament's Constituent session on Wednesday.

Header The PDK, Memli Krasniqi, said on Monday that his party would never vote on Haxhi for Speaker of the Parliament, because “it is a symbol of the government's failure in the past four-year term”.

The mandate has been forwarded to various scandals, from the disappearance of Astri Dehari samples to the lower budget for protecting rescuers at The Hague”, Krasniqi said.

LVV activist Dehar was found dead in a prison cell in Prizren in November 2016.

In December 2022, Haxhiu, who was minister of justice, confirmed that Dehar's samples had disappeared from the Institute of Legal Medicine.

In 2023, the budget shared by the Kosovo Government for the protection of indictees from Kosovo's Specialised Chambers in The Hague was more than eightm euros, meanwhile last year, less than 7m euros.

The AAK has suggested two other LVV names for top parliament: Saranda Boguyevci and Albanian Selimin. This party has named Haxhiu a non-unificational politician.

The language Mrs. Haxhiu has used against the opposition is conflicting, this has been the reason [for its failure to vote by the AAK]”, says party deputy, Time Kadrijaj.

Unlike other parties, the LDK has said it will not vote on any candidate proposed by the LVV for chairman of the Parliament.

“Hagiu, cause and excuse for deadlock”

Even Gergii from G SLP thinks Haxhiu, during her political engagement as deputy and as justice minister, has used harsh language towards political opponents.

This is one of the reasons, according to him, why the PDK and the AAK seek a different name from the LVV, which would be acceptable to both the top parliament and other parties.

For example, we can compare it to Vetevendosje's candidate in the past legislature, Glauk Konjufca, who managed to get several votes even from the opposition”, Gergi says.

However, he suggests that political parties' disagreements over Hadzi's name as chief parliament are also being used as a pretext by the parties to stall the constitution.

“Silent Marriage to new elections”

Gergi emphasises that completing this process paves the way for the formation of the new government.

To do so, the LVV, as the winner of the election, will have 15 days.

If it fails, then the president of Kosovo elects the party, which proves she has 61 votes for forming the executive.

Statements from the situation, according to Grogit, would be forming a stable government by LVV, with one of the major parties, PDK or LDK.

The agreement on such a government, as he estimates, does not appear even on the horizon, yet for forming a fragile government, neither the LVV on the one hand, nor the PDK, LDK and AAK on the other.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a kind of rush from the country's political elite to form a government, and we are quietly marching towards new [premature] elections”, Gergi estimates.

The Kosovo Assembly Constitutive session, which began on 15 April, has been interrupted five times.

According to the Parliament's Order, it can continue no longer than 48 hours from suspension, without limits on how long it may continue.

Without the election of the Speaker of the Parliament and its deputy leaders, the process of constitutionalising this legislature is not considered closed.