UNMIK Headlines 2 July
Constitutional Court announces ruling on President’s request (dailies)
Koha Ditore reports on the front page that the Constitutional Court has served a “hot potato” to President Atifete Jahjaga. According to the court’s interpretation, Jahjaga is obliged to nominate for prime minister the candidate proposed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), and if this candidate fails to form the government, Jahjaga would have to decide on a candidate from a political party that can win the majority of votes in parliament. Jahjaga is also obliged to avoid new parliamentary elections. Zeri notes on the front page that the Constitutional Court has not ruled out the possibility that if Thaci fails to form the government, this right would be given to the opposition coalition. In a different article related to the same issue, the paper reports that the PDK is “fishing” for individual LDK MPs in an effort to secure necessary votes for the formation of the government. Under the leading headline Constitutional Court challenges unity of the opposition, Tribuna reports that the Constitutional Court has left open the possibility for the PDK to have two tries at forming the government. The paper also notes that the post of Assembly Speaker will belong to the PDK. In a different article, the paper quotes unnamed sources as saying, “PDK and Thaci sent signals that they could even give up on the post of prime minister, by offering it to the LDK, and keep the post of Assembly Speaker. The PDK would then also wait for the end of President Jahjaga’s mandate to take over this post in 2016.”
Statement of the Office of the President (Bota Sot)
The Office of the President of Kosovo, has issued a statement which notes that President Atifete Jahjaga, has received the interpretation of the Constitutional Court on the President’s request for evaluation of the conformity of the Article 84, section 14 and Article 95 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. “President Jahjaga is expecting that in the coming days, the electoral process of pre-term general election will be concluded in its fullness, through the official certification of the elections by the CEC. President Jahjaga will act in full compliance with the Constitution and the Laws of the Republic of Kosovo, fully respecting and applying the decision of the Constitutional Court,” informs the press release.
Thaçi: I respect the decision of the Constitutional Court (dailies)
Immediately after the announcement of the verdict of the Constitutional Court, which recognizes the right to decide on the candidate to the winning party, the outgoing Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi stated that he fully respects this decision. “I have just received the verdict of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo which determines the winner of the elections and his right to create the new institutions, in accordance with Article 95, paragraph 4 of the Constitution as well as the Law on general elections which determines clearly the manner and deadlines for establishment of coalitions. I fully respect this decision,” Thaçi wrote on his Facebook profile.
U.S. Embassy: Respect the decision of Constitutional Court (dailies)
The U.S. Embassy in Pristina issued a statement on Tuesday calling on all Kosovo leaders to respect the decision of the Constitutional Court clarifying the role of the President. “The ability of Kosovo’s institutions to manage this process is a tribute to Kosovo’s democratic development,” the statement said. The U.S. Embassy also welcomed the successful conclusion of the contract between the Government of Kosovo and Bechtel/ENKA to build Route 6 (Pristina – Hani i Elezit highway) following a transparent process. “Bechtel is a leading U.S. company working in the region, and is well-positioned to construct a safe, high-quality road to the highest engineering standards. Route 6 will facilitate increased trade and tourism for Kosovo, and generate new economic opportunities for the region, says in a statement of US Embassy in Pristina one day after Kosovo Government has approved recommendations of Steering Inter-ministerial Commission for the construction of highway Pristina – Hani i Elezit, known as Route 6,” the statement said.
Vetevendosje: No third term for Thaci (Tribuna)
After the Constitutional Court announced its ruling on Tuesday, the Vetevendosje Movement said it was confident that PDK leader Hashim Thaci will not have a third term in government. “None of the four Albanian political parties represented in parliament will join the PDK and Hashim Thaci in government. We stress once again that stopping the old regime is good news for Kosovo,” Vetevendosje said in a statement. Vetevendosje also said the court’s ruling makes it clear that if the first candidate fails to form the government, the President appoints a candidate from the party or coalition that can secure necessary votes in parliament for the creation of the government.
U.S. judge gives priority to LDK-AAK-NISMA coalition (Botapress)
Robert Carolan, a judge with the Constitutional Court, has expressed his disagreement with the court’s ruling on President Jahjaga’s request. Carolan disagreed with the majority of judges and said he believes they made an incorrect decision. Carolan said articles 84, 14 and 95.1 of the Constitution, about which the President was in a doubt, are in compliance with each other. He said the law on elections should not have been mixed with the Constitution, because this law does not determine the election of the prime minister. “A coalition is a group of people, groups or places that have joined forces for the same purpose and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a pre-election coalition,” Carolan said. He also added that the Constitution of Kosovo, same as the previous UNMIK legal framework, does not say that a coalition must be registered before elections.