(See original in Albanian)
We, citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, are worried about our democracy. For almost three months after the general elections, our representatives have been unable to carry their duties, and a new government is yet to be formed. The Constitutional Court has decided that the right to nominate the speaker of the Assembly and the first candidate for prime minister belongs to the party that obtained a plurality of the votes in the elections. But that party has only one third of the deputies. As the largest party lacks the support of the majority of the people and the backing of other parties, the Assembly is unlikely to elect a new legitimate government any time soon.
We are aware that democracies naturally experience occasional slowdowns. But at the same time, we believe that the current difficulties are due to inadequacies in the supreme law of the land. Therefore, with the desire to preserve and further develop our democracy and to avoid potential institutional crises, we call on our representatives in the Assembly to consider making changes to the Constitution.
We have attached to this petition the text of proposed amendments to Articles 64, 66, 70, 82, 84, and 95 of the Constitution, which govern the election of deputies, their mandate, and the formation of the executive. Notwithstanding the final form that the text of the Constitution may take, the essence of our requests and goals is:
- To increase the accountability of representatives—For this purpose, we demand representation through electoral districts. Citizens of each district should elect several deputies and be able to hold them accountable by exercising the right to vote.
- To obtain representation for the diaspora—A number of seats for Kosovar expats will encourage them to participate in our democracy and to think about returning to their homeland.
- To limit the power of political parties—We want to cast our free votes for individual candidates, regardless of the group or party to which the candidates belong. A citizen’s vote and a deputy’s mandate should be granted only to the candidate or deputy elected by the people; it should by no means be given to the party.
- To enable the quick formation of the government—The executive should be elected without delay and excessive formalities. We demand that the President of the Republic use his own free judgment when appointing the formateur (mandatary) to form a new government. Thus, the President may observe the balance of power in the Assembly and avoid crises. If the President fails to appoint an acceptable candidate for prime minister, we propose that the Assembly itself elect the government.
Shkurtegëza për këtë postim: http://pli.si/1XLsquz
