(ANSA-AFP) - PRISTINA, 03 MAG - Kosovo's parliament failed on
Saturday for a tenth time to elect a new speaker, deepening a
political crisis and increasing the possibility of snap
elections. Three months of deadlock began with February 9
elections in which the prior ruling Vetevendosje
("Self-Determination") party failed to secure a majority,
winning 48 out of 120 seats. As the largest party, VV proposed
Albulena Haxhiu, justice minister in the former government, as
speaker. However, MPs did not even get the chance to vote on
this proposal as the VV wanted a secret vote -- which the
opposition MPs refused. The opposition accuses VV of
deliberately blocking the formation of institutions by not
proposing moderate party representatives. "If they propose
Albulen Haxhia for speaker not 10 but 100 hundred times, we will
oppose it," said Memli Krasnici, the chair of the leading
opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). VV, on the other
hand, blames the opposition, accusing them of discriminatory
treatment towards Haxhiu. The assembly has been in session since
April 15. The constitution does not set any deadline but instead
states that the session cannot end without the election of the
president, three vice-presidents and parliamentary bodies. The
deadlock is "holding up ratification of international agreements
under the EU's Growth Plan. Without ratification, Kosovo is
denied access to 882.6 million euros," the Group for Legal and
Political Studies warned. The next session is scheduled for
Monday. (ANSA-AFP).
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