• Veseli: Parliament to be dissolved, elections to be announced (RTK)
• Haradinaj asks for legal interpretation from Constitutional Court (media)
• Haradinaj: I will not allow a government vacuum (media)
• Haradinaj cannot set in motion the Constitutional Court (Koha)
• Haxhiu: Haradinaj did not resign because of Specialist Chambers (Bota Sot)
• Court: President’s decisions for CEC members, constitutional (Epoka)
• “Haradinaj decided to bring himself down, covered resignation with patriotism” (KosovaPress)
• Hahn: Resolution of Kosovo – Serbia conflict, a priority of the EU (media)
• Ramadani: Serbia has turned into a mini Russia, region is concerned (media)
• Muhaxheri on election of LDK leader (Bota Sot)
• KLA veterans demand former fellow fighter’s release (media)
• Izetbegovic: Kosovo’s future status cannot be linked to Republika Srpska (Klan)

Veseli: Parliament to be dissolved, elections to be announced (RTK)

Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Kadri Veseli spoke to RTK after the meeting of the party’s steering council that the Assembly of Kosovo needs to be dissolved and pave way for elections which he said should be announced as soon as possible.

“I would call on my colleagues from political parties to gather at the Assembly, dissolve the parliament and agree on elections date. This is the best solution,” Veseli said adding that to this end he will call a session of the Assembly.

Asked about whether he plans to attend a meeting that Ramush Haradinaj said he would call of coalition partners, Veseli said: “This is no longer about any individual. The outgoing prime minister is an outgoing one. What is more important right now is the institutional communication of political parties with the president or, more quickly, directly to dissolve the Assembly.”

At the meeting with PDK leadership Veseli said that Ramush Haradinaj’s resignation was not unexpected but that there was no prior consultation. “An ad-hoc and surprising decision for some but not unexpected and not without premeditated calculation on the part of the now self-dismissed prime minister.”

Haradinaj asks for legal interpretation from Constitutional Court (media)

All media report that Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, has asked the Constitutional Court on Monday for a legal interpretation of his resignation and to define the competencies and functioning of the government, following his resignation. Haradinaj took to Facebook to write: “Honorable citizens, I have submitted a request to the Constitutional Court today to interpret the act of my resignation from the post of Prime Minister and to define the competencies and functioning of the Government following this act. The purpose of my request is not only to seek explanations for the legal situation created after my resignation and in doing so to avoid any institutional vacuum, but for the interpretation of the Constitutional Court to also clarify similar situations in the future. Sending this issue to the Constitutional Court is proof of institutional responsibility, for the Government within the constitutional and legal framework, and not allow any institutional vacuum until the formation of a new Government. I hope that because of the urgency, the Court will decide soon. I will respect whatever decision the Court makes. At the same time, I call on the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Parliament and the political parties to undertake the necessary action to announce parliamentary elections.”

Haradinaj: I will not allow a government vacuum (media)

Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj told reporters in Pristina on Monday that he submitted a request to the Constitutional Court for a legal interpretation into his resignation. “I have asked the Constitutional Court whether this resignation implies a caretaker government, so a continuation of governance. Even though the Legal Office at the Office of the Prime Minister made this assessment based on earlier practices and interpretations, I have nonetheless submitted the request to the Constitutional Court, to be on the safe side of the law,” Haradinaj said. “I have resigned. A government must derive from elections but until that government comes, who holds responsibility for governance in this country? No one is giving this answer and I cannot let the country in chaos until a new government is formed. I assure the citizens of our country that I will not allow a government vacuum and to be on the side of the law I have addressed the Constitutional Court”. Haradinaj also said that his party – the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo – supports the dissolution of the Assembly. “The party that I lead supports the dissolution of the Assembly, whenever a session for dissolving it is called – if this speeds up the elections process … I have asked our parliamentary group, Ahmeti Isufi [AAK deputy leader], to begin consultations with parliamentary parties to dissolve the Assembly. The President has implied this [consultations] but we have yet to receive an invitation to a meeting,” he added. Haradinaj said his party is ready to run alone in eventual early parliamentary elections. Haradinaj also said that he will invite Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Kadri Veseli and NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj to a meeting tomorrow.

Haradinaj cannot set in motion the Constitutional Court (Koha)

Citing Enver Hasani, a constitutional expert and former President of the Constitutional Court, the paper reports on its front page that Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj cannot set in motion the Constitutional Court with his request for a legal interpretation of his resignation. “The Prime Minister of Kosovo cannot set in motion the Constitutional Court except in cases foreseen in Article 113, points 2 and 3, of the Constitution. These two points clearly provide that only legal acts can be challenged,” Hasani said. The paper cites Article 113 as saying that cases can be raised at the Constitutional Court by the Assembly, the President, the Government and the People’s Attorney. The paper also notes that Haradinaj has told the parliamentary group of his political party to push forward the initiative of dissolving the Assembly if President Hashim Thaci delays setting a date for early parliamentary elections.

Haxhiu: Haradinaj did not resign because of Specialist Chambers (Bota Sot)

Vetevendosje MP, Albulena Haxhiu, said that Ramush Haradinaj did not resign the post of prime minister due to the call from the Specialist Chambers. “When he saw he can no longer benefit in the name of the war, it seems he changed his mind about his resignation. He now addresses the Constitutional Court in a hope of finding a small door to maintain the power he had and abused so much. There can be no going back. Extraordinary elections as soon as possible,” Haxhiu wrote on Facebook.

Court: President’s decisions for CEC members, constitutional (Epoka)

The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has assessed that decisions of the President of Kosovo to nominate members of the Central Election Commission are in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo. The verdict of the Court published on its website notes that 28 March 2019 nominations are not in contradiction with paragraph 4, Article 139 of the Constitution. Three political parties of PAN coalition claimed the right for one CEC member each and did not submit their names to the president. The request for assessment of the Court was submitted by Bilall Sherifi from the Social-Democratic Initiative (NISMA).

“Haradinaj decided to bring himself down, covered resignation with patriotism” (KosovaPress)

Political analyst Imer Mushkolaj told KosovaPress that Ramush Haradinaj’s resignation has changed the political scene in Kosovo. According to Mushkolaj, this was a smart calculation by the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK). He added that Haradinaj’s statements are contradictory, as he resigned not to represent Kosovo institutions at Hague, while he said he would run again for the post of Prime Minister. Mushkolaj said Haradinaj decided to bring himself down, prior to being brought down by opposition political parties at the Assembly through a no-confidence motion. He added that Haradinaj decided to cover his action with patriotism, in order to be remembered for his resignation to respond to the Hague invitation and not for bad governing.

Hahn: Resolution of Kosovo – Serbia conflict, a priority of the EU (media)

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in an interview to Der Standard that resolving the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia is a priority for the European Union as this would be in the service of maintaining stability throughout the Balkans. Hahn said he believes there is political readiness for an agreement both in Serbia and in Kosovo. “I hope that conditions for progress will be created in Kosovo after eventual early elections in autumn. The resolution of this conflict remains a priority for the international community,” he said.

Ramadani: Serbia has turned into a mini Russia, region is concerned (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Burim Ramadani, has commented on Serbia obtaining weaponry from Russia saying the move threatens the whole Balkans and is part of Russian and Serbian revenge to NATO and world democracies.  “Serbia has turned into a mini Russia and this is a concern for the whole region,” Ramadani wrote concluding that “Kosovo’s membership in NATO will contribute strongly to regional security.”

Muhaxheri on election of LDK leader (Bota Sot)

Gazmend Muhaxheri, current mayor of Peja/Pec, did not confirm nor deny his eventual candidacy for the post of leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). “I believe that the situation in LDK will be clarified in the following days. And public opinion will certainly be informed very soon about the eventual candidates, and of course it belongs to the Assembly of the Democratic League of Kosovo to elect the leader. I do not know who deserves it, usually the best ones deserve it, we have many good ones at LDK competition. As it is known, it is time for changes, let us see in the following days, who will run and who will be elected,” Muhaxheri said.

KLA veterans demand former fellow fighter’s release (media)

Bota Sot reports that Kosovo Liberation Army veterans in Gjakove/Djakovica have announced a protest on Wednesday to demand the immediate release of their former fellow fighter, Tomor Morina, detained by North Macedonian authorities on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by Serbia.

At the same time, Radio Free Europe reports that the Council of the Criminal Court in Skopje has turned down the request to release Morina from detention saying that there is a risk he could flee North Macedonia.

Izetbegovic: Kosovo’s future status cannot be linked to Republika Srpska (Klan)

Leader of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) in Bosnia, Bakir Izetbegovic, said that the future status of Kosovo cannot be linked to a new status for Republika Srpska. He said that both in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina it was the Serbian side the committed atrocities and added that “there are no historic, moral or legal prerequisites” for the independence of Republika Srpska.