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CONTENTS: 21 NOV. 2001 SHALA: POLITICAL RELUCTANCE
Zëri on page one carried a column by its editor-in-chief Blerim Shala, who wrote: "The conclusion regarding the matter of publicly addressing the issue of Kosovo's final status is that one cannot overcome one political reluctance with another. These issues have come to the surface two days after the parliamentary elections were organized in Kosovo. During his public appearance following the elections, Ibrahim Rugova, chairman of the largest Kosovar party, did not appear as a man who was aiming to take over the government. He appeared as the leader of the party that won the majority of votes. He made an appeal to the international community to acknowledge the independence of Kosovo. The West saw his appeal as very problematic due to the fact that the process of solving Kosovo's final status has its own itinerary, which sees Kosovo's final status as an epilogue of the democratization process. With the November elections and the establishment of Kosovo's Central government, this process will begin with a new dynamic. The response of Brussels and the leader of the European Union to Rugova's appeal were problematic comments, invitations and appeals for Kosovars and the Montenegrins. Brussels' wise and proper response toward this issue would be to point out that the issue of Kosovo's final status is being prematurely discussed. We can hardly consider the sharp refusal regarding Kosovo's independence or Podgorica's appeal to preserve a state, which does not exist anymore, as diplomatic reactions."
Zëri on page three carried a column by Mufail Limani commenting on the LDK and its chairman Ibrahim Rugova. "With no doubt, the greatest event of the general elections in Kosovo is the relativity of the LDK's victory. The leaders and the militants of the party celebrate while those who do not support the LDK mourn the results, which were resemble those of last year and remain merciless. There is great confusion and there are people who say that the LDK has truly lost in the elections. However, the main force in Kosovar politics remains the LDK. Together with the other political parties, the LDK has to learn its lesson from the electoral campaign. The first lesson should be to change the relations within the party. On the one hand, we saw that Rugova's way is not the correct method to replace the evident political incapability. On the other hand, Rugova should explain his position to us. His senseless way of speaking was not within the political coordination of the electoral campaign. It is a sign of the other parties' incapabilities and weaknesses to use the weak campaign of the LDK to their benefit. While Serbs occupied Kosovo, the collective fear that people might turn against each other activated the LDK. After the war, the LDK revitalized and returned under confusing circumstances and due to mistakes made by other parties. After a series of violent acts, which supposedly came from the 'wing of the war', committed toward its members, the LDK experienced great triumph in the local elections. However, this party has not changed a bit since 28th of October 2001. However, others have changed as time has passed… instead of justifying and blaming themselves or the electorate, the members of the LDK should soon come around and begin thinking of living and working among many other parties. The great decisions will not be made in Velania but in the future parliament of Kosovo and in cooperation with other parties, including Serbs. Regardless of the evident electoral decrease, it will be up to the LDK and Rugova to make the decisions. The electorate has once more given the chance to the LDK to prove that it is capable of leading. It would be great for Kosovo if the LDK would find the strength to adapt to the new circumstances. If the other political parties are willing to cooperate on the points of joint interest, the LDK has no other alternative but to either join them or become another democratic party in Kosovo."
Kosovo's parliament will meet for the first time by early December reported Zëri on pages one and three. The former UN building is being prepared to receive the new members of Kosovo's parliament. According to the Constitutional Framework, Kosovo's president and the government will be elected by the parliament. However, from the results of the Saturday elections it can be seen that not one political party has the sufficient seats in parliament to form the government alone. It is expected that LDK, with the most seats, will chose the president of the parliament. However, the post of the presidency and the Prime Minister will cause friction and even maybe a parliamentary crisis. The presidential post requires 1/3 of the deputies to nominate the president and 2/3 to elect him. If the first two votes fail a third vote is needed --the absolute majority is 51% of the parliamentary members present at the moment of voting. The case with the Prime Minister and the government is slightly different. If the government is not elected with a 2/3 vote then there will be a parliamentary crisis. In most democratic countries if two and sometimes three votes do not elect a government then the parliament is dissolved and early elections are called. Constitutional expert Dr. Arsim Bajrami said that Constitutional Framework does not foresee the possibility should the parliament fail to vote a government and the parliament dissolves. He emphasized that this a parliamentary rule and if the government is not formed after two or three votes that parliament is automatically dissolved. Modern constitutions have this possibility said Bajrami. Even though it is early to talk about the dissolution of the parliament when it has still not been properly formed, it remains a real possibility if the political parties do not achieve an agreement on forming a coalition government. Kosovar analysts believe that international pressure, will not allow for this to happen. All of the votes in the parliament are secret, i.e. for the President,
the Prime Minister and the Government. To become a Prime Minister
you do not need to be a member of the parliament.
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