KDI calls for the President to be elected before 4 October, seeks constitutional clarification for after 4 October

The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) has called on parliamentary parties to focus their efforts on electing and swearing in the President before 4 October, to avoid ambiguities regarding the exercise of presidential powers after the expiry of the six-month period.

KDI made this request during a press conference at which it presented its analysis “Exercising the Office of President Beyond Six Months”.

Eugen Cakolli, presenting the analysis, recalled that the period of acting duty by Albulena Haxhiu, which began on 4 April, ends on 4 October.

Meanwhile, according to KDI, the final deadline for electing the President, set by the Constitutional Court, is 6 October.

“The 6 October deadline determines the time the Assembly has to elect the President and the consequence if it fails, while the six-month limit relates to the duration of the temporary exercise of presidential responsibilities,” Cakolli said.

He also referred to the joint statement published a day earlier by around 50 civil society organisations, through which an agreement was sought on electing the President within the deadline.

According to Cakolli, another failure to elect the President would take the country to elections, while there is a risk that the issue of electing the President will remain unresolved in the subsequent legislature as well.

At the conference, Vullnet Bugaqku presented KDI’s assessment that the six-month limit, set out in Article 90, paragraph 3 of the Constitution, limits the temporary exercise of the function of President.

According to KDI’s analysis, the re-election of the Assembly Speaker on 9 September did not automatically create a new six-month period, as long as the presidential vacancy has continued.

“The re-election or replacement of the Speaker, without an interruption of the presidential vacancy, is not treated as an automatic restart of the deadline,” Bugaqku said.

He said that the absence of an express succession mechanism after the end of the six-month period creates uncertainty for the exercise of the President’s powers.

According to KDI, this issue becomes especially important if the election of the President fails again on 6 October, since declaring new elections is the exclusive competence of the President.

KDI has asked the Assembly Speaker, in her capacity as acting President, or other authorised parties, to immediately consider the possibility of requesting clarification of the Constitutional Court’s latest judgment.

The institute referred to the practice of 2011, arguing that the issues requiring clarification include the link between the six-month period and the 6 October deadline, the basis and limits for exercising presidential responsibilities after 4 October, and the authority to declare elections in the event of a failure to elect the President.

In this regard, KDI has called on the Constitutional Court to treat any requests as a priority and in an expedited procedure, respecting procedural deadlines and taking into account the proximity of the dates 4 and 6 October.