Members of parliament will not vote on the international Tribunal, which is expected to try war crimes allegedly committed by members of the former Kosovo Liberation Army, fearing the impact that such a decision would have on national elections.
The ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the biggest opposition party led by Isa Mustafa, have agreed to accelerate legal amendments for elections and to hold elections in the first half of the year. The two leaders also agreed that early elections would be announced only after the abolishment of parliament.
A senior government official, who is also deputy leader of the PDK, told the paper that the parliament cannot decide about the Tribunal during this period of time. “The PDK cannot shoulder the entire responsibility. A consensus of all political parties is needed to vote on such a matter. If the PDK decides on this alone, it will suffer serious consequences in the elections. The parliament is very unstable right now. A decision before elections is not very likely. However, it might be too late after the elections because, if elections are held in June, institutions will not be established before September,” the senior official added.
