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Opposition forms group to secure Assembly Speaker post (Koha)

The opposition bloc wishing to form a new government of Kosovo has decided to create a joint group in order to secure the post of Assembly Speaker, the paper reports on the front page. According to the agreement, the post is set to go to the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Isa Mustafa, but an Assembly regulation stipulates that the position should go to a candidate proposed by the largest parliamentary group. However, neither officials from political parties nor from the Assembly of Kosovo were able to say with certainty whether parliamentary groups are created before or after the Speaker is elected. Arben Gashi from the LDK said all legal conditions will be applied in the Assembly to make sure the post is given to Isa Mustafa. “We will have a joint parliamentary group in order to have the sufficient numbers to propose the Assembly Speaker from our own group”, said Gashi. One of the contributors to the drafting of Kosovo Constitution and former head of the UNMIK Legal Office, Alexander Borg-Olivier, told the paper that it is the duty of the President of Kosovo to assess which party or coalition has sufficient numbers in the Assembly to form the government. If the President is not sure who to propose, she can then request an interpretation from the Constitutional Court. “If there is proof that a coalition has more support to create a government, the President should give it a chance”, concluded Borg-Olivier.