The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo Dr. Jakup Krasniqi had a meeting today with the leaders of parliamentary and non-parliamentary political parties, where it was decided that elections in the municipality of Rahovec will be held on 21 November 2010.
At a press conference held after the meeting, the A/President of the Republic of Kosovo Jakup Krasniqi said: “As you were informed on time, a joint meeting between parliamentary and non-parliamentary political parties just ended today. Though extraordinary elections in the municipality of Rahovec were the main point of the agenda, we also discussed general elections shortly. I hereby inform you and, through you, the people, that elections in the municipality of Rahovec will be held on 21 November 2010”.
“Not all the necessary political parties were present to discuss general elections. I will try to ensure that, in the beginning of the next week at latest, the date for the general elections is set. These elections will be held on February and that on the 13th or the 20th, the later being a more flexible date. These are the potential dates when general elections will be announced. I believe that you and the public will be soon duly informed about this”, he added.
The Acting President of Kosovo Dr. Jakup Krasniqi also answered questions posed by journalists.
“The civil society, the KDI namely, has requested a commission be established to assess what happened yesterday at the session on the PTK privatization yesterday and in what manner and, concerning the quorum, to establish clearly whether a quorum has been present at the hall or not, is it so?” – was a question which Mr. Krasniqi answered as follows: “The civil society needs not deal with the issue and this is not a matter the appertains to the civil society. This is an issue that the Assembly and the President of the Assembly have to deal with, and I decide if there is a quorum or not, I prepare the agenda and I chair the session.
According to the Assembly Rules of Procedure, I have had the quorum present yesterday. However, the presence means that – once again, let us make it clear – at each session, if we look at the electronic presence, I have the presence to vote, but I also check the physical presence. I cannot vote only relying on what the electronic equipment provides to me short of physical presence and I am sure that I had the physical presence. However, on an issue like privatization, which is a general national interest, I do not want to sign the decision that the voting has been finished. We will consult. We know that we have a consensus, meaning the motion filed by the parliamentary group of the LDK was not passed, but, at any rate, I want to have an even stronger consensus for the decision to become more binding. Accordingly, for the moment, nobody needs care more for the people and the reaches of Kosovo than the people that have been elected and represent the interests of the people of Kosovo.
We will not sign a decision indicating that the Assembly of Kosovo has voted on Kosovo Government’s strategy for the privatization of the PTK. We will see that issue is brought back to the Assembly and that there is, indeed, a stronger consensus that also involvs other parties, rather than a certain group. Yet, as information to the public, I want to point out that there was a physical presence when the voting took place. There was not an electronic presence and we know that we have our obligations to the people of Kosovo and for the assets that belong to the people of Kosovo”.