- Veseli: Assembly should be dissolved, elections should be called (RTK & KTV)
- Tahiri: Veseli presented the stance of a statesman (RTK)
- Haradinaj: AAK stronger than ever, ready for elections (Klan Kosova)
- Muhaxheri doesn’t deny nor confirm that he is competing for LDK chairman (KTV)
- Constitutional Court declares admissible referral for Thaçi to appoint CEC members (KTV)
- Political situation in Kosovo suspends integration process (KTV)
- Protests in Kosovo against arrest of ex-KLA member in North Macedonia (Gazeta Express)
News
Veseli: Assembly should be dissolved, elections should be called
(RTK & KTV)
The Kosovo Assembly Speaker and the PDK leader Kadri Veseli urged the Kosovo Assembly to vote for its dissolution and to schedule the election date, in order for the country to enter elections as soon as possible.
He made this statement to RTK, following the first meeting of the PDK Executive Committee, which emerged from the party’s internal elections.
“Let us not mistreat citizens, this is the decision time. I would like to call upon my colleagues from political parties, let us convene in the Assembly. The Assembly should be dissolved, we need to agree on the election date,” Veseli said.
He said that there are two options to schedule elections: meeting of political parties with the President, and decision of the Assembly for dissolution. According to Veseli, the latter is faster. Veseli said that in line with his Constitutional responsibilities, he will take the initiative to call an Assembly session, in order that the dissolution can happen with two thirds of votes.
With regard to the invitation for a meeting that the outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has made to the Government partners, Veseli implied that he will not respond to the invitation. “The outgoing Prime Minister is an outgoing Prime Minister,” he underlined.
Veseli highlighted that Haradinaj’s resignation had not happened without political calculation, KTV reported.
“Resignation was Prime Minister’s wish. We will enter the election process. Citizens give the mandate to somebody to govern. The result of this election process will be strongly in favour of PDK. Kosovo has institutions; there is no need to cause confusion. Elections are inevitable. Political parties should not make statements, but they should make the decision to dissolve the Assembly with two thirds, and let us move forward,” Veseli concluded.
Tahiri: Veseli presented the stance of a statesman
(RTK)
Political analyst Ramush Tahiri highly commended the PDK leader Kadri Veseli, who on Monday evening called on parliamentary parties not to play political games but to go to the Assembly and dissolve the parliament with consensus in order to pave the path to elections.
Ramush Tahiri said that Kadri Veseli’s stance is the stance of a state-building statesman.
“Bravo for Kadri Veseli. Just know, through the RTK, he addressed the citizens, saying that early parliamentary elections in the Republic of Kosovo are inevitable. He called on all parliamentary political party leaders to come for consultations at the Assembly and agree to hold the plenary session of the Assembly in which MPs by two-thirds of the vote (80) will dissolve the Assembly. Very good news! Stance of a statesman, Commitment! With this, there is no need to go on consultations with President Hashim Thaçi and there is no need for a revision of resignation of Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj at the Constitutional Court. The mandate belongs to the people, and no one should be afraid of elections, Veseli said,” analyst Ramush Tahiri wrote on his Facebook page.
Haradinaj: AAK stronger than ever, ready for elections
(Klan Kosova)
Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj visited Pejë/Pec on Monday, where he met with party structures in this town.
Haradinaj, who is resigning Prime Minister, said that the party he leads is ready for extraordinary elections, Klan Kosova reported.
“In a mobilizing atmosphere, meeting with the AAK structures in Pejë/Pec, where the Alliance was born.
Now stronger than ever, the Alliance is ready for national elections, with the best offer of strengthening the citizens’ relationship with the state, economically developed and with a clear vision for the Euro-Atlantic future,” he wrote on Facebook.
Muhaxheri doesn’t deny nor confirm that he is competing for LDK chairman
(KTV)
Not denying or claiming to be a candidate for the LDK chairman, Mayor of Pejë/Pec Gazmend Muhaxheri emphasized that it is time for change.
One week is remaining until the new LDK chairman will be officially known. These elections will be held on August 3rd, but it is still not known who the candidates that will compete for this post are. During this time, there are many names that are being mentioned as potential candidates.
On Sunday, former Deputy Minister of Local Government Administration Bajram Gecaj, on a Facebook post, implied that the Mayor of Pejë/Pec Gazmend Muhaxheri may be one of the candidates for the LDK chairman.
Muhaxheri told KosovaPress that there are many good candidates in the competition for the head of LDK and, according to him, the time is demanding changes.
“I believe that in the following days the situation in LDK will be clarified, and it will be made known who the chairman will be. The public will certainly be informed very soon about potential candidates, and it is up to LDK’s Assembly to elect the chairman. I do not know who deserves it, usually it is deserved by those who are the best ones, and we have very good ones in the LDK competition. As it is known, time requires changes, we will see in the following days, those who run and those who will elect,” said Muhaxheri.
Asked if they have discussed preliminary coalitions with other political parties, Muhaxheri said that it is up to LDK to initially elect the chairman, and as far as the red lines are concerned, he personally does not have red lines for any party.
Constitutional Court declares admissible referral for Thaçi to appoint CEC members
(KTV)
Constitutional Court has proceeded the referral of Nisma MP Bilall Sherifi and 29 other MPs, in relation with the decision of the Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi to appoint members of the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The claimants stated that they disagreed with paragraph 4, Article 139 [Central Election Commission] in the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.
The Court announced that pursuant to the Constitution, relevant law and rules of procedure, initially ruled to declare the referral admissible.
Secondly, the Court established that the decisions of Thaçi to appoint CEC members were not in contradiction with paragraph 4, Article 139 [Central Election Commission] in the Constitution.
Political situation in Kosovo suspends integration process
(KTV)
Experts believe that the political situation which Kosovo has entered since the resignation of Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, besides other effects, will suspend the already slow process of Kosovo’s EU integration.
It is believed that the justice system reform and other areas required in the EU integration process will mark stagnation, as a result of the political situation in the country.
Demush Shasha of the European Policy Institute in Kosovo (EPIK) stated to Radio Free Europe that the resigning Government anyway performed poorly in the integration process, but in the current political situation, it will be even more difficult.
“Taking two requirements as an example: the Stabilisation Association Agreement (SAA) and visa liberalisation, we can say that the resigning Government in its mandate failed to show progress in the EU integration area,” he said.
“Now when the Government is resigning, this has a negative impact on the EU integration process. If until now we moved slowly in the integration area, now the process will be suspended. Having in mind organising and holding of elections, and then establishment of new institutions, I think that there will not be any development in the integration process at least in a year,” Shasha added.
Protests in Kosovo against arrest of ex-KLA member in North Macedonia
(Gazeta Express)
Association of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans, branch in Gjakova, has announced that on Wednesday they will organise a protest in defence of ex-KLA member, Tomor Morina, who last week was arrested by North Macedonian authorities at Serbia’s arrest warrant.
Morina who is from Gjakova is wanted by Serbian authorities on alleged crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo. The protest will be held at Mother Theresa Square. A court in Skopje has on Monday rejected the appeals of Morina’s defence counsel, asking his release from detention. Last week a Court in Skopje remanded Morina to 30 days in detention pending extradition procedures. His arrest caused reactions in Pristina and Skopje. North Macedonia Prime Minister pledged that they will respect all international laws and European standards in Morina’s case.
Kosovo’s outgoing foreign minister, Behgjet Pacolli, in a statement last Thursday said that they will not allow extradition of ex-KLA member to Serbia and called on North Macedonia authorities not to respect “political warrants issued by Belgrade.”