IKD: Nenad Rassic's self-proposal to deputy chairman, contrary to Constitution and Order

At the same session, the three vice-presidents were voted and elected from the ranks of the largest parliamentary groups, as well as MP Emilja Rexhepi as deputy speaker by non-party communities. However, the process was not successfully completed with regard to the election of the deputy head of the Parliament by the Serbian community, a guaranteed position with the Constitutions and Orders for equal representation of non-most communities.

Following developments at the Convention Constitution session, the Kosovo Institute for Justice has raised concerns about the way Serbian community's deputy leader is treated.

Melos Kolshi, a researcher in the IKD, has told “Front Online” that the case represents a deep violation of constitutional and parliamentary rules, creating a new block scenario towards the constitution's institution.

He says the process has been developed contrary to obligations that the Constitution and Rule of the Parliament has assigned to him.

The violation of the Constitution, Orders, Constitutional Court Act and Parliamentary Practices concerning vice-presidents from the ranks of communities presents a new block scenario towards the constitution's constitutional framework. The IKD has monitored the process of developing the constitutional session on 26 August and has noted that the Speaker of the Parliament, Dimal Basha, has developed the procedure of electing the vice-presidents from among non-most communities contrary to obligations the Constitution has assigned to the Parliament, the Constitutional Court Act, and the until-30 parliamentary practice, he said.

In particular, Kolshi refers to the Constitutional Court's judgments in cases where the election of the mayor and vice-presidents is said to be in accordance with the Constitution, the Assembly Order and the until-30 parliamentary practice.

Kolshi has stated that even the process of Emilja Rexhepi's proposal for deputy chairmanship is contrary to the Parliament's regulation.

This regulation requires the written form of the proposal for deputy heads of the Parliament, which was ignored in the case of Emily Redzepi. For this reason, both the process of candidate proposal for deputy chairman from the ranks of the Serb community and the election of MP Emilia Redzepi in the position of the Parliament's deputy speaker was made contrary to the Parliament's rule of Parliament and in the absence of transparency. Political agreements, which were introduced by MP Elbert Krasniqi, cannot become part of a constitutional and legal process. Next violation in the process was the voting process”, he said.

The violation is also counted in the way of voting, says Kolshi.

The “constitution and regulation define two (2) separate paragraphs on the matter of voting the deputy heads of the Parliament. These two (2) paragraphs speak of two (2) single voting processes: the vote of three (3) vice-presidents by the largest parliamentary groups and the vote of (2) vice-presidents from non-party communities. As the voting process of vice-presidents cannot be shared by the three largest parliamentary groups, neither can the process of vote by deputy speakers be separated from the communities. So has been the current parliamentary practice, including the 2021 practice led by LVV”.

IKD: Parliament Must Resume Vote for Subheaders From Groups

Researchers from the Kosovo Institute for Justice, Melos Kolshi, have declared for “Front Online” that Kosovo's Assembly should repeat the vote for vice-presidents from the ranks of communities again after he put it to constitutional order.

“The IKD urges the new Speaker of the Assembly to continue the constitutional session on August 28th to repeat the procedure of voting of deputy mayors from the communities and the process to be conducted in accordance with the Constitution, the Assembly Order and the recent act of Constitutional Court”, Kolshi has indicated.

Kolshi says deputy leaders from the Serb community and not many should vote together.

“Vice-chairman from the Serbian community and deputy leader from other non-most communities, after accepting written proposals, should be voted together in the package. This is necessary to ensure respect for the constitutional order and to ensure that the constitutional court's constitutionalised process under the clear legal and constitutional rules is carried out, and within the 30-day term set by the Constitutional Court”, it has declared.

Melos Kolshi of the Kosovo Institute for Justice has indicated to “Front Online” that Nenad Rassic's candidacy for the deputy head of the Parliament from among the Serb community has been made contrary to the Constitution and Rule of the Parliament.

“Regarding MP Nenad Raši's vote proposal as deputy head of the Parliament from the Serb community's ranks, it is not proposed by the majority of MPs in the Serb community, which the majority make up the Serbian List with 9 MPs. Self-proposal is prohibited both from forms required in writing and from matter, which is required to be representation by the majority of MPs in the Serb community”, he said.

Kolshi from the IKD has criticised the way the Speaker of the Parliament has handled this process, saying it has begun with the lot process in opposition to the Assembly Rule.

“The IKD notes that the Speaker of the Parliament has started with the process of lots in opposition to the Parliament's rule, because the lot applies only when there are no proposals submitted, while in this case there were concrete proposals from MPs of the Serbian community who did not get the necessary votes, and on the other hand, the MPs of this community themselves rightly refused the lot, because the way of realisation of the vote for both vice-presidents was non constitutional”, Potencoi Kolshi.