Kosovo’s Members of Parliament convened on Thursday to finalize the constitution of the legislature with the election of the fifth and final deputy speaker, a representative of the Serbian community. However, the vote failed once again, prompting Speaker of the Assembly, Dimal Basha, to suspend the session.
Serb List, the largest party representing Kosovo Serbs and backed by official Belgrade, continued to nominate Slavko Simić for deputy speaker. Five out of the nine Serb List MPs were selected by lot to be voted on, but each received zero votes.
The lot then fell to Nenad Rašić, another Serbian MP in the Assembly, who is not supported by Serb List and is the leader of the Freedom, Justice, and Survival party, aligned with the Vetëvendosje Movement and caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Rašić received 56 votes in favor, 1 against, and 20 abstentions, allowing his candidacy to proceed to another round of voting.
Speaker Basha stated that the session was adjourned to discuss with parliamentary parties the possibility of voting for Rašić. “The greatest chances of being elected as the representative of the Serbian community lie with Nenad Rašić, which is why I closed the session and we will continue discussions among parliamentary groups,” he said.
After the session, Serb List MP Igor Simić accused the Assembly of violating the fundamental rights of the Serbian community, the constitutional order, and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. Serb List also announced that it would submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo regarding this issue.