Civil Society Organizations Protest in Front of Kosovo Parliament

Kosovo Parliament (BetaPhoto/Armenija Zajmi Besevic)

The civil society organizations from Pristina organized a drive in front of the entrance to the Assembly of Kosovo on June 25, protesting the fact that the parliament had not been constituted since the elections in February.

Civil society representatives called for the end of the institutional crisis and underscored the assembly members’ responsibility in this process. Eugen Cakolli of the Kosovo Democratic Institute assessed that the current situation had “exceeded the limits of normality” and that the parliament had turned into a circus of democracy. “The assembly members gather for a few minutes of work, although they receive their salaries. We expect them to come to their senses. Not even the Constitutional Court can solve this blockade. The assembly members must demonstrate the political will to overcome the blockade,” he said.

The Assembly of Kosovo was not constituted on June 25 because, for the 37th time, the nomination of the electoral committee for electing the speaker of the parliament was not accepted. The speaker of the constitutive session, Avni Dehari of the Self-determination movement, has called on the political subjects to each nominate a candidate for the electoral committee, but the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Serb List and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo – NISMA coalition, once again refused to make the nominations and take part in the vote.