Kosovo president resigns after court rules election illegal

[News_Editor]

Kosovo president resigns after court rules election illegal

2011-03-31 00:01:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

PRISTINA, KOSOVO (BNO NEWS) -- Kosovo President Beghjet Pacolli on Wednesday resigned after a Constitutional Court ruled that the February 22 election was illegal, the Koha Ditore daily reported.

Pacolli, 59, said he fully respected the decision of the court but denied any irregularities by his part in the elections. The ruling came after the court accepted the appeal presented by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and determined the Parliamentary vote was marred with irregularities.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, who is also leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), met with Pacolli in order to decide which step is next. It is expected that Pacolli will be a presidential candidate once more as the ruling allows it.

Ibrahim Makolli, leader of the Coalition for New Kosovo, said that there is an agreement between PDK and Pacolli that guarantees him a spot for the presidential elections. In the meantime, the court's ruling threatens to plunge Kosovo once more into a political crisis.

On February 22, Pacolli was voted as president of Kosovo after receiving the necessary votes in the Parliament. He received 62 votes in favor, 4 against and one abstention.

The voting needed three rounds as Pacolli did not obtain the minimum votes during the first two rounds (54 and 58 respectively). After five-minute pause in accordance with the Law of the Regulation, Pacolli was elected as the third Kosovo leader. Opposition lawmakers called the move unconstitutional.

Pacolli was elected after the untimely resignation of former President Fatmir Sejdiu after violating the country's constitution. Sejdiu breached Kosovo's constitution by holding office as president and the leadership of his LDK party at the same time.

Jakup Krasniqi, the Parliament's leader, was appointed as caretaker president while elections were prepared. After Wednesday's ruling, Krasniqi was once again designated as interim president.

The voting was the first general election since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following an armed conflict that began in 1999. In Kosovo, ethnic Albanians outnumber ethnic Serbs and other minorities by about nine to one.

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