# Kosovo Court Gives Parliament 34 Days to Choose a President
Kosovo's Constitutional Court has ruled that President Vjosa Osmani's decree dissolving parliament has no legal effect, while giving lawmakers 34 more days to elect a new head of state or face automatic elections.
The decision, reported by Balkan View, deepens but also clarifies the country's latest institutional dispute. The presidency said the court found no paragraph in the judgment saying Osmani breached the constitution, and argued that responsibility for any move toward new elections lies with parliament rather than the president. The court's formal ruling, however, says the decree itself does not produce legal effect and sets a strict timetable for the Assembly to finish the presidential process.
That timetable is the key point. The court said the procedure to elect a president cannot last more than 60 days and must end no later than 30 days before the incumbent's mandate expires. But because the Assembly was only constituted in February, the judges said it had not had enough time to complete the process. They therefore gave lawmakers an extra 34 days to finish electing a president.
If they fail, the consequence is automatic: parliament will be dissolved and early parliamentary elections must be held within 45 days. The ruling is immediate and final, which means the political process now moves under a deadline rather than open-ended legal argument.
The case began when Prime Minister Albin Kurti and a group of lawmakers, including Arbërie Nagavci, challenged Osmani's March 6 decree. The presidency had argued that the decree was necessary to break the deadlock, but the court's decision makes clear that the constitutional pathway to a new president must still run through the Assembly.
Political responses exposed the fault lines. Nagavci, from the ruling Vetëvendosje party, said the judgment confirmed that the decree was unconstitutional and called for joint efforts to avoid a new crisis. Lumir Abdixhiku, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, said the ruling returns the process to parliament and leaves no one with an advantage. The Democratic Party of Kosovo said it would meet to discuss next steps but would respect the court's decision.
What makes the ruling significant is that it tries to separate legal form from political responsibility. The presidency wants the judgment read as a rebuke to parliament. The opposition wants it read as a reminder that only political agreement can prevent another election. The court's text, as described in the report, does both: it rejects the immediate decree while setting a hard deadline for lawmakers.
For Kosovo, that means the crisis is not over, only scheduled. The next 34 days will determine whether the Assembly can produce a president through negotiation or whether the country moves into another election cycle. Either way, the court has put an end date on the uncertainty.
The ruling also narrows the room for political theater. With the deadline now fixed in law, parties will have to negotiate in public or risk being blamed for a new cycle of elections.
