Abgewählt
Heute, am 17. Februar, feiert die Republik Kosovo ihren 13. Geburtstag. Doch schon seit Sonntagabend feiern die Kosovaren – trotz Pandemie – auf den Straßen Prishtinas den historischen Sieg der Oppositionspartei Lëvizja Vetëvendosje. Am Sonntag fanden die vorgezogenen Parlamentswahlen im Kosovo statt, aus denen die Partei Lëvizja Vetëvendosje mit Parteichef Albin Kurti als eindeutige Siegerin hervorging. Die alte Riege haben die Kosovaren damit klar abgewählt. Noch kann Kurti auf eine absolute Mehrheit im Parlament hoffen, um seine Wahlversprechen auch ohne Unterstützung des alten „Kriegsflügel“ einlösen zu können. Eine strafrechtliche Verurteilung und die nächsten Präsidentschaftswahlen könnten ihm jedoch noch im Weg stehen.
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A Motion of No Confidence and Political Power Struggles Amidst a Pandemic
Only in office since the beginning of February, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti did not survive a motion of no confidence in late March. Instead of calling new elections, the President of the Republic has been working towards forming a new government, invoking his right to propose a Prime Minister. This move, however, has no basis in the constitution, and the Constitutional Court is expected to clarify the matter any day.
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Parallel Justice: A First Test for Kosovo’s Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office
In 2015 Kosovo established judicial bodies to investigate and try alleged crimes in connection with the Kosovo war. Having hardly taken up its work, the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office was already put in its place for disregarding the fundamental rights of one of the accused.
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Unconstitutional “Constitutional Questions” – How Kosovo’s Constitutional Court Expands its Jurisdiction
The “Qeska” case has marked the beginning of a series of misuse of Kosovo’s Constitutional Court from political bodies in the Republic of Kosovo to avoid their constitutional responsibilities. The last two referrals from the President of the Republic of Kosovo submitted to the Court are putting Kosovo’s constitutional justice into question.
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How likely – and dangerous – is a Kosovo/Serbia “Land Swap” ?
The presidents of Kosovo and Serbia have recently considered an exchange of territories (“land swap”) between their two countries which would lead to Serbia’s formal recognition of the independence of Kosovo. In view of legal and politcial hurdles, one can envisage at least three distinct scenarios of international response to a bilateral treaty between Serbia and Kosovo, concerning specific synchronized border changes.
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