Constitutional Court publishes full judgment: what happens if the president is not elected by October 6?

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday published the full judgment in cases KO256/26 and KO258/26, addressing the constitutionality of the constitution of the Assembly, the election of the Presidency and the Government, as well as the deadlines for electing the President of the Republic.

Under the judgment adopted on September 23, the Assembly of Kosovo was constituted after the expiry of the 30-day constitutional deadline. However, the Court clarified that exceeding this deadline does not automatically entail the dissolution of the Assembly.

The Court took as its starting point that the final results of the June 7 elections were certified on July 8, which means the 30-day deadline for completing the constitution of the Assembly expired on August 7.

According to the reasoning, it is not enough for the constitutive session merely to begin within this deadline; it must conclude with the verification of mandates, the oath of MPs, and the election of the Assembly president and vice-presidents.

In the specific case, on August 6 MPs had verified their mandates and taken the oath, while the election of the Assembly president took place on September 9. The process of electing the vice-presidents continued on September 11 and 13.

The Court found that, although this deadline is mandatory, the Constitution does not provide for the automatic dissolution of the Assembly as a consequence of missing it.

According to the judgment, exceeding the deadline nevertheless produced legal consequences, as it set other constitutional deadlines running.

One of the key points of the judgment concerns the election of the President of Kosovo. The Court found that the 60-day deadline for this process began on August 8, 2026 and ends on October 6, 2026.

The Court stressed that the Assembly must conduct and complete the procedure for electing the president within this deadline.

If the president is not elected by October 6, under the judgment the Assembly is dissolved pursuant to Article 82 of the Constitution, while early parliamentary elections must be held within 45 days of the dissolution.

The Court also addressed the manner of electing the Assembly’s vice-presidents. It found that voting on them one by one is not contrary to the Constitution, since neither the Constitution nor the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure require that they necessarily be voted on as a package.

Another issue addressed was the vice-president post belonging to the second-largest parliamentary group.

The Court assessed that PDK has not lost the right to nominate its vice-president, even though Vlora Çitaku’s candidacy had not received the necessary votes and had been temporarily withdrawn.

According to the Court, this constitutional right “had not been exhausted,” so MPs should elect the vice-president from the ranks of the second-largest parliamentary group as soon as possible.

The Constitutional Court also reviewed the election of the Government on September 13 and found that the decision is not contrary to Article 95 of the Constitution.

According to the Court, the Government was elected within the relevant deadlines and with the required constitutional majority.

In conclusion, the Court found that the Assembly was constituted late, but this did not bring about its automatic dissolution; the Government was elected in accordance with the Constitution; PDK retains the right to the vice-president post; while the president must be elected by October 6.

The Court also rejected the request for an interim measure and determined that the judgment enters into force on the day of its publication, as Telegrafi reports.