• Covid-19: 26 new cases confirmed, ten recoveries (media)
• President Thaci offers mandate to whoever can secure majority (media)
• Kurti: We will send President to Constitutional Court (media)
• Kurti to Thaci: We have not yet replied to request for proposing PM candidate (Telegrafi)
• Osmani: Thaci cannot speak on my behalf (media)
• Abazi: Thaci is using Mustafa to divide LDK (media)
• Haziri: Osmani's post not undermined despite new circumstances (Telegrafi)
• Hasani: President trying to command political will in unconstitutional fashion (RFE)
• Haradinaj will ask his party to give one ministry to PSD (Indeksonline)
• Krasniqi: Kurti has no right to enter Assembly anymore (TV Dukagjini)
• Serbian List against new elections (RTK)
• EP rapporteur slams Thaci's decision for new government (media)
• Lajcak thanks regional leaders for supporting dialogue (media)

 Kosovo Media Highlights

Covid-19: 26 new cases confirmed, ten recoveries (media)

Kosovo's National Institute for Public Health announced that yesterday 172 tests were carried out, of which 26 have tested positive for coronavirus.

At the same time, the Institute announced that ten patients were declared recovered from the virus over the last day.

The new cases include eight in the municipality of Kamenica, four in Istog, four in Peja municipality, four in Vitia, three in Ferizaj and one in Prezren municipality.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Kosovo stands at 632.

President Thaci offers mandate to whoever can secure majority (media)

All media reported on Wednesday that following a meeting with leaders of political parties, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said he would give the mandate to form a new government to whichever party or coalition that can secure a majority in parliament. Thaci namely summoned party leaders to ask them if they want him to move forward with the formation of a new government or if they want to go to early parliamentary elections following the no-confidence motion against the Kurti-led government on March 25. 

Vetevendosje senior official Albulena Haxhiu was opposed to President Thaci’s announcement in the meeting, saying that his decision goes against the Constitution. She also argued that “a government cannot be formed without the party that won the October 2019 parliamentary elections”. 

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Kadri Veseli said at the meeting that his party will remain in the opposition and that they would not accept any possible coalition offers from other parties. “The period we are going through would have given this meeting real meaning if we would focus on the pandemic. The [political] crisis is unusual because it was caused by the very people that should have been governing,” he said. “We have an extreme political polarisation at this point with the aim of electoral gains especially by the Vetevendosje and the LDK”. 

“This is making more difficult the lives of people and it is putting the Republic of Kosovo before a blockade. The outgoing government, with its steps, has blocked Kosovo and itself. It [the government] has violated the Constitution.”

 “We need the U.S. and the European Union, and there has been polarisation. Most pressing is the situation in the north. The institutions of another, hostile, country have been allowed to establish a legal formal situation and this has not happened in 21 years. We all know that there were parallel structures there after the war. This government legitimised Vucic’s decision and made it its own decision.”

Veseli said Kosovo cannot go to early elections now because of the pandemic. “But we can not leave this government in power either. Its actions are illegal and anti-constitutional … The PDK will favor new elections after new circumstances are created,” he said. 

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Isa Mustafa said in the meeting that they don’t believe Kosovo should go to early elections and that a new government should be formed with a mandate from the current Assembly. He added that the LDK, as the second biggest party, was ready to try and form a new coalition government.

Leaders of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), NISMA and the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) too said they favor attempts to form a new government instead of early parliamentary elections. 

Kurti: We will send President to Constitutional Court (media)

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, said on Wednesday evening that President Hashim Thaci “moved to unlawfulness” today by deciding to give the mandate to form a new government to any party or coalition that proves they have a majority in parliament. Kurti said leaders of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) made this possible.

“The President moved to unlawfulness today. The formalisation of today’s statements will end up in the Constitutional Court. The President was enabled to do so by leaders of the LDK, who beforehand willingly abandoned every word they gave to the people and us. These actions and tactics reveal an effort to illegally buy time,” Kurti told a press conference. “Amidst a pandemic, they organised a coup against the security of public health by first orchestrating the no-confidence motion.”

Kurti said Thaci’s decision today goes beyond his competencies as President. He said early general elections were the only option after the no-confidence motion against the government on March 25. 

“It is not in the competencies of the Kosovo President to assess the interests of parties, but rather to protect the interests of the state. What happened today is unprecedented and poses a serious threat to our constitutional order. Following the no-confidence motion that dismissed the government, the President did not have any room to play the role of a political stakeholder. Elections are the only option,” he said. 

Kurti said Thaci’s decision is sending Kosovo to an unnecessary crisis of uncertainty and frustration. 

“By trying to bring us down, he [Thaci] is bringing himself down irreversibly. Today, an outdated political club unanimously said they are not in favor of elections. My first priority as Prime Minister and all my governance is to prevent the further spread of COVID – 19 and any other issues be it party or political is not important, including the continuous interference in the work of the government amidst an emergency public health situation,” Kurti said. 

Kurti to Thaci: We have not yet replied to request for proposing PM candidate (Telegrafi)

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti has written to President Hashim Thaci saying that he has no constitutional authorisations to conclude that Vetevendosje has refused to put forward a candidate for prime minister.

"The Constitution of the Republic does not stipulate any such competency to the President to assess or conclude the use or the failure to use the right to propose a candidate. In addition, neither the Constitution nor the ruling No. 103/14 have specified a timeline for such a thing. What the Constitution specifies in this case is the proposal of a candidate only from the party or the coalition that has won the absolute or relative majority," Kurti said in the letter.

Yesterday, Thaci wrote to Kurti concluding that the Vetevendosje Movement has failed to propose a candidate for new prime minister and that as a result, he will proceed to act in consultation with other political parties.

Osmani: Thaci cannot speak on my behalf (media)

Kosovo Assembly President and LDK deputy leader Vjosa Osmani took to Facebook on Wednesday that seven years ago now-Kosovo President Hashim Thaci presented to the Assembly his agreement with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic calling it Kosovo's recognition by Serbia.

"The agreement in fact created the Association of Serb municipalities, it legalised the criminal structures in the north, it included Serbia's security structures into our institutions, it created a non-unitary judicial system and it offered amnesty for Serbs that had committed crimes. At the time I voted against as I was confident that it was neither a recognition nor a final agreement and that it only paved the way to other flagrant violations of the country's statehood and sovereignty. Today, seven years later, the same person is trying to speak on behalf of 91 MPs. But not on my behalf, nor on behalf of hundreds and thousands of other citizens of this country who as on October 6, 2019, can clearly make the difference between good and evil," Osmani wrote.

Abazi: Thaci is using Mustafa to divide LDK (media)

Acting Deputy Prime Minister Haki Abazi said that before and after the war, Thaci used his friends to divide the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

“Now, he is using Mustafa to divide and fight Kosovo state and constitutionality and divide LDK. Those who are in America’s black list and have problems with Kosovo’s law and Constitution, to not represent the interest of the citizens, and neither do they contribute to democracy and relations with democratic countries. Thaci’s questions do not replace the position of the citizens expressed on 6 October elections and do not cover coalition of the Constitution,” Abazi wrote on his Facebook account.

Haziri: Osmani's post not undermined despite new circumstances (Telegrafi)

Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Lutfi Haziri said regardless whether the party will lead a new government or not, it already has a constitutional post, of the Assembly Speaker.

He said Osmani's post cannot be put into question. "Vjosa Osmani has the trust of coalition partners even today and although the government has lost the confidence, she remains speaker and her post cannot be undermined despite the latest political circumstances," he said.

Haziri also ruled out the possibility of LDK entering a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

Hasani: President trying to command political will in unconstitutional fashion (RFE)

Enver Hasani, former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, said in an interview to Radio Free Europe on Wednesday, commented on President Hashim Thaci’s letter to caretaker Prime Minister and Vetevendosje leader, Albin Kurti, in which he said that Kurti did not use a constitutional right to try and form a new government. 

Hasani argued that the President made an anti-constitutional step, saying that “constitutional rights cannot be considered to be denied by the caretaker and the caretaker’s action cannot be preempted because this is anti-constitutional”. “In our Constitution there is no deadline [to nominate a new candidate], but I must also say that such timelines are not foreseen even in the majority of parliamentary constitutional democracy because it is assumed that the political readiness, through compromises, can lead to the start of a procedure. This means that Kosovo is not alone in this respect.” 

Hasani further argued that the President made a mistake by preempting the opinion of the Vetevendosje Movement, “by imagining a timeline that does not exist”. “The President cannot set constitutional timelines and the President cannot preempt and force the winner of the elections to abandon their constitutional guarantees,” he added. 

Haradinaj will ask his party to give one ministry to PSD (Indeksonline)

According to the news website, the Haradinaj-led Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) is expected to have three ministries in the new government. 

Citing unnamed sources, Indeksonline reports that AAK leader Ramush Haradinaj will ask his party's chairmanship to give one government ministry to the Social Democratic Party (PSD) led by Dardan Molliqaj. The AAK and PSD were in a coalition in last year's general elections. 

Krasniqi: Kurti has no right to enter Assembly anymore (TV Dukagjini)

Memli Krasniqi, Deputy Speaker at the Assembly from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) told TV Dukagjini that after the government was brought down, Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti does not even have the right to enter Kosovo Assembly premises. “He is not even an MP and he does not have the right to enter the building of the Assembly as a Prime Minister,” he said.

He said that by remaining in opposition, PDK intends to return the quota of 200,000 votes and to continue with the initiated reforms in order to win the next elections.  “We have taken loss of twenty thousand votes very seriously and we are working to return PDK where it belongs, as the first political party.”

Serbian List against new elections (RTK)

Goran Rakic, leader of the Serbian List, said his political party does not support extraordinary elections at this time.

Speaking about President Hashim Thaci’s meeting with the leaders of the political parties, Rakic said that in the current situation when Kosovo is facing COVID-19 pandemic, they support formation of a new government with the current legislation.

EP rapporteur slams Thaci's decision for new government (media)

European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, slammed the decision of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci to give the mandate for forming new government to whichever party manages to secure the majority.

"It becomes more absurd every single day @HashimThaciRKS I am speechless. I wonder how this can end up. Why is the president putting his country in danger?," von Cramon tweeted.

Lajcak thanks regional leaders for supporting dialogue (media)

The EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, thanked Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic, and President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, for their constructive approach to the dialogue facilitated by the EU.

In separate phone calls with the leaders, Lajcak said that dialogue is of crucial importance for the stability, trust and economic development of the Western Balkans as a whole.

"Only a coordinated process will lead to a comprehensive normalization agreement," Lajcak wrote on Twitter.