Kosovo Writer Veton Suroi Warns of Constitutional Coup

Veton Suroi

Kosovo writer and publicist Veton Suroi said on March 31 that a constitutional coup d'etat was being prepared in Kosovo, given President Hashim Thaci's insistence on the creation of a comprehensive cabinet after Kurti's cabinet lost a vote of no confidence in the Kosovo Assembly last week.

"The president has started inviting political parties to consultations and is expressing his aspirations as to what kind of cabinet Kosovo needs, before fulfilling his constitutional obligation of asking the Self-Determination for the name of the premier-designate," Suroi wrote on Facebook.

He believes that if this first step is skipped and Thaci invokes his right to chose a premier-designate at his own discretion "then we have a constitutional coup d'etat." Suroi recalled that according to the constitution the president had the obligation of first asking for the name of the premier-designate from the coalition or party that won the elections, which, in this case, is the Self-Determination.

If this candidate does not receive the trust of the majority in the Assembly, then the president of Kosovo has the right to appoint a new one at his discretion.

Before meeting the first obligation of giving the winner of elections a mandate, Thaci, however, has directly gone to the second obligation - his discretion, "which implies preparing a constitutional coup which is supposed to secure the installation of a cabinet outside of constitutional norms," Suroi wrote.