• Constitutional Court annuls election of Hoti Government (Prishtina Insight) • Acting President to summon political parties today to set election date (media) • Haziri: The country is going to new elections (Kallxo) • PDK: Elections are welcome because coalition lacked majority (media) • NISMA implies it could join PDK before new elections (media) • AAK’s Gjini says budget must be adopted before going to new elections (media) • COVID - 19: 264 new cases, six deaths (media) • Confidential negotiations for the vaccine (Radio Free Europe) • Vetevendosje MP slams government for poor management of pandemic (media) • Hoti: Some differences with Serbian List; we’re trying to overcome them (media) • The failed attempts to resolve the Kosovo President post (Koha) • DFC to open office in Prishtina soon (Klan Kosova)

Constitutional Court annuls election of Hoti Government (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of Vetevendosje’s complaint that Etem Arifi’s vote for the Hoti Government was illegitimate, ruling that the Government did not receive the vote of the majority of deputies and that elections should be held within 40 days.

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has found that the election of the coalition government led by Avdullah Hoti, elected on June 3, was unconstitutional, ruling that it did not receive the mandatory 61 votes of Kosovo MPs. Furthermore, the decision foresees that fresh elections should take place within 40 days of the President’s announcement of the decision.

The decision states that “taking into account that the Government was not elected according to paragraph 3 of Article 95 [Election of the Government] of the Constitution, then based on paragraph 4 of Article 95 [Election of the Government] of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Kosovo announces elections which must be held no later than forty (40) days from the day of their promulgation.”

The Hoti Government was elected by the Kosovo Assembly on June 3, with a majority of one vote. Vetevendosje submitted a complaint on June 11 regarding the validity of the vote due to the legal status of MP Etem Arifi, who voted for the coalition government and was sentenced on September 29, 2019 on charges of corruption.

The Constitutional Court has accepted Vetevendosje’s complaint, stating in Point II of its decision that a person convicted of a criminal offense in the three years prior can not be a candidate for deputy, or win a valid mandate in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo.

The court added that this means that the Government was not elected according to the Kosovo Constitution, and that the President of Kosovo should announce an election, which must be held no later than 40 days following its promulgation.

Acting President to summon political parties today to set election date (media)

Kosovo Acting President Vjosa Osmani will summon today political parties for consultations on the date of early parliamentary elections after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Hoti government was unconstitutional. The Constitution provides that new elections are to be held within 40 days.

Haziri: The country is going to new elections (Kallxo)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Lutfi Haziri said in a short statement to the news website on Monday evening that Kosovo is going to early parliamentary elections. “It is done! The country is going to elections. The Court leaves no room for comment,” he was quoted as saying.

PDK: Elections are welcome because coalition lacked majority (media)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said in a press release that it welcomes the ruling of the Constitutional Court which paves way to early parliamentary elections. “The ruling coalition, for several months now, has lacked the majority in parliament to pass laws and it has blocked the normal functioning of state institutions. For this reason, the PDK has on several occasions called the parliamentary parties to meet and vote on disbanding the Kosovo Assembly,” the press release notes.

NISMA implies it could join PDK before new elections (media)

NISMA Secretary General Bilall Sherifi said on Monday that this political party is negotiating joining the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) before the early parliamentary elections. Sherifi said NISMA has other alternatives too but that he prefers the PDK. “What I can confirm this evening is that we are holding negotiations. We will announce our position in the coming days,” he told Dukagjini TV. “Mr. Limaj is holding talks with several political parties, but I prefer the PDK.”

AAK’s Gjini says budget must be adopted before going to new elections (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) deputy leader Ardian Gjini said the Kosovo Assembly should pass the budget before going to new parliamentary elections. “The Acting President must call for a vote on the budget before we go to elections. Otherwise, we risk a total instability in spring!” Gjini wrote in a Facebook post.

COVID - 19: 264 new cases, six deaths (media)

264 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 990 samples have been tested for coronavirus. 205 persons have recovered from the virus during this period.

Confidential negotiations for the vaccine (Radio Free Europe)

Kosovo government officials do not confirm if they are conducting negotiations to get supplies of COVID – 19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, whose vaccines were approved for use and are already being administered in several world countries. Asked if Kosovo is negotiating with these two companies, Health Minister Armend Zemaj told reporters in Prishtina on Monday that this is a confidential matter. “We are working to get the vaccine as soon as possible. We have to maintain what we call confidentiality for entering into possible contracts,” he said. Asked why the matter must be kept confidential, Zemaj said that this is done in order to secure vaccines for the citizens of Kosovo as soon and as efficiently as possible.

Kosovo expects to get vaccines for 20 percent of the population from the World Health Organisation’s program COVAX, and it will purchase the rest from its own budget. Zemaj said the budget for the vaccine is the least problem.

Vetevendosje MP slams government for poor management of pandemic (media)

Vetevendosje Movement (VV) MP Dimal Basha took to Facebook on Monday to criticise the Hoti-led government of failing to properly manage the COVID – 19 pandemic. “You have no clue what you’re doing. With this mismanagement you are increasing the hotspots of infection and you are taking the country on the brink of collapse by bankrupting the state and the private sector,” he said.

Hoti: Some differences with Serbian List; we’re trying to overcome them (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti confirmed on Monday that there are differences between the ruling coalition and the Serbian List, a junior partner in the government. He did not reveal the requests of the Serbian List but did say that they are trying to overcome the differences but always by respecting the laws and constitution of Kosovo.

“There are some issues that we have with them in the coalition; we are trying to resolve them, always in line with the laws and Constitution and the agreements reached in Brussels. The respective institutions are working on this and I believe we will overcome them. If we do overcome them, we will do so only according to the applicable laws,” Hoti said.

The failed attempts to resolve the Kosovo President post (Koha)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has so far failed in its attempts to resolve the post of Kosovo President and there is no date yet for a meeting between political parties to discuss the issue. Citing unidentified sources, the news website reported on Monday evening that delays in organising the meeting are due to disagreements among partners of the ruling coalition, with the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) giving no signs that it will give up on the candidacy of its leader Ramush Haradinaj for the post of President.

Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said on Monday that there are ongoing efforts to organise a meeting. “We are trying to arrange a meeting as soon as possible. We haven’t drafted formal and written invitations, but we are trying to find a solution as soon as possible,” he said.

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) spokesman Avni Bytyqi said on Monday that there are no developments in discussions for the post of Kosovo President. The PDK has made it clear that it will become part of a solution only if they propose a candidate for the post.

The news website also notes that without the 14 votes of the AAK in the Assembly, the LDK and PDK cannot elect a new President even if they have the support of the non-majority communities. The Constitution of Kosovo provides that the President can be elected with 61 votes under the condition that 80 MPs take part in the voting process. The Kurti-led Vetevendosje Movement has ruled out the possibility of joining discussions on the post of President, insisting that Kosovo first needs to go to early parliamentary elections.

DFC to open office in Prishtina soon (Klan Kosova)

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will soon open an office in Prishtina after it had opened its central office in Belgrade, Serbia, following the agreement on economic normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia in Washington on September 4.

Kosovo’s Minister of Infrastructure, Arban Abrashi, said on Monday: “an internal agreement is now needed between the Kosovo Government and the DFC and they will have their office in Prishtina”.

Abrashi also said “we have received encouraging signals” from U.S. officials that despite the change of administration in Washington, there will not be any policy changes about the economic normalisation agreement.