The government of outgoing Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who was ousted on Wednesday after a no-confidence vote brought by coalition partner LDK, will remain in office until a new government is formed.
There are two ways in which a new government can form, and the choice belongs to the President of Kosovo.
The President has a constitutional right to dissolve the Kosovo parliament and hold extraordinary elections, that must take place no later than 45 days after the parliament has been dissolved.
This is unlikely to happen under current conditions, when organizing an election would be practically impossible due to restrictions in movement that have followed the coronavirus pandemic.
Another constitutional option for the President would be to attempt to form a new government out of the existing parliament.
The procedure in such a case would be the same as the one that formed the initial government. The President would appoint a new candidate for Prime Minister in consultation with the Movement for Self-Determination (LVV), Kurti’s party, who received the most votes in the October election.
There are no time limits by when the LVV should submit a candidate for Prime Minister. They can indefinitely postpone replying to President’s request.
If the LVV submits a PM candidate and he is unable to get the votes of a the parliamentary majority for his/her government, the President may grant the right to form a new government to the party with the second most number of votes, in this case the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).
While the above is not literally foreseen by the Kosovo Constitution, it is implied. The same approach was used after the government of Ramush Haradinaj resigned and Kadri Veseli’s Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was offered and refused the right to form a new government. This compelled President Thaçi to call for a snap election.
Theoretically, this process may continue until a government is successfully formed or until all parties represented in parliament fail to form a government. In such a case, the only remaining solution is holding elections anew. However, in practice, the process does not go further than the 2-3 major parties.
If Albin Kurti is again be appointed by LVV to form a new government, it seems that it will be near impossible for him to succeed, seeing as he was just ousted as prime minister.
Kurti may choose to delay the process, but sooner or later he will have to give up and pass the right to form a new government down to LDK.
Some in Kosovo’s political circles have alleged that LDK (with 28 MPs) has come to an agreement in principle to form a new government alongside Haradinaj’s AAK (with 13 MPs), NISMA (with 6 MPs) and the 20 ethnic minority MPs.
Even if Speaker of Parliament and deputy head of LDK Vjosa Osmani and the two other MPs who voted against the vote of no-confidence refuse to support such a coalition, up to 63 MPs could support it.
President Thaçi now has 10 days to decide whether he will call for extraordinary elections or ask LVV to submit the name of their PM candidate who would try to form a new government.
