Presidential Election/ Better a serious crisis than a ridiculous state

Kosovo was rapidly heading towards one of the most serious crises this young state has ever gone through, producing its fourth early election in two years; with uncertainty over who would fill the interim role of president; and continuing to be led by a prime minister who has been serving as an acting head of state longer than as the actual head of government, yet the way this chaotic situation was averted was the most ridiculous possible. 

It is enough to recall the sequences of the last minutes of the session that was broadcast live, with the hustle and bustle of the assembly hall, where it was difficult to distinguish the deputies from the prop workers who were setting up tables and ballot boxes, Albin Kurti who was looking at the one and two o'clock, the elected representatives who were rushing towards the hall like a herd of cattle, or Albuena's anxiety to gain seconds, to understand that in what is supposed to be the most solemn moment of a state, there was nothing serious. But, just like this external appearance of the process, so was its internal one.

By noon, it seemed as if early elections were inevitable. 

In addition to the traditional hostility, Prime Minister Kurti and PDK leader Bedri Hamza seemed to be gripped by a mutual crisis of trust. The fear that the other would abuse the kindness of the one who had given him trust, nullified any rational path. They did not agree, not even on the order in which the law that sought to limit the Hague court should be voted on first, or on the election of the head of state, much less on the name of the latter.  

Kurti brought up the name of Bekim Sejsiu again, from the previous agreement with LDK, Hamza dismissed him, claiming that he was not part of this pact. The former made another offer, pledging to vote for the law on the special court, if the PDK made it possible to elect Glauk Konufca or Feride Rushiti , his rival mocked him, saying that he would never accept to lead the former's yesman to the presidency.      

There were less than two hours left before the gong was to fall to dissolve parliament when the prime minister proposed the name of academic Justina Shiroka Pula , who had apparently previously been part of confidential conversations between him and the opposition leader. 

Situata u bë edhe më absurde pasi ai theksoi se nuk e kishte kontaktuar kandidaten, pasi ajo ishte një ish ministre e Hashim Thaçit, pra që i takonte palës tjetër të fliste me të. Aq pak kohë kishte mbetur dhe në aq tepër mosbesim ishte investuar, sa në të gjitha studiot e televizioneve, njëkohësisht, panelistët e komentuan këtë si një taktikë të Kurtit për ti lënë fajin e dështimit kundërshtarit. 

Por këtu filloi kthesa, njëkohësisht dhe komedia! 50 minuta më pas, PDK e pranoi propozimin. Në orën që kishte mbetur duhej organizuar gjithçka. Kandidatja për presidente që ndodhej për darkë në Prizëren u tha mediave që ajo s’dinte asgjë. Në kohën në dispozicion, më shumë sesa dilema e pranimit të kësaj barre të rëndë, asaj do i jetë dashur të mendojë se si duhet të braktisë miqtë për tu kthyer në Prishtinë, për makiazhin dhe veshjen që duhet të zgjidhte në një rast si ky, e me siguri, nëse tepronte kohë, edhe ndonjë fjalë që duhet të shqiptonte pas betimit, ashtu siç e kërkonte zakoni.

Po aq absurde ishte situata edhe atyre deputetëve që deri pak momente më parë ishin përgatitur që do të votonin bër Bekim Sejsiun ose të tjerëve që e kishin ndarë mendjen për bojkot. Në kushtet e reja ata thjeshtë duhet të nxitonin si robotë. 

Ishte qesharake se si gjoja komisionet miratuan për leximin e dytë ligjin për Gjykatën Speciale, ndërkohë që në sallë vendoseshin tavolinat e votimit të presidentes. Procedura për zgjedhjen e saj qe një gati banalitet. Kishte mbetur edhe gjysëm ore kohë kur duheshin shkruar e lexuar jetshkrimet e dy kandidatëve, kur duheshin siguruar nënshkrimet e së paku 30 propozuesve, për secilin prej tyre, kur duhej mbledhur Komisioni për Legjistlacion, i cili prezumohet të verifikojë firmat, kriteret e përmbushura nga mëtuesit e postit e më pas të hartojë një raport për këtë. 

Edhe sikur vijimi i votimit pas orës 12 të natës të mos konsiderohet një shkelje e kushtetutës, zor se një gjykatë e denjë për këtë emër do ta validonte një proces surrogato si ky.        

E megjithëatë Justina Shiroka Pula, arriti të kthehet nga darka me miq në kohën e duhur, ajo arriti ta zgjedhje dhe veshjen e përshtatshme, madje dhe të qëmtojë dy fjalë për fjalimin e rastit. 

In this sense, this comedy with a happy ending seemed to please everyone. It avoided a crisis, a pair of pointless elections and the vacancy of the post of president. But, for anyone who wants to see beyond the cheers and Kurti-Hamza handshakes, several other questions arise: How is it possible that Vetëvendosje deputies voted for the law on the Special Court, while they had declared with their mouths that it was unconstitutional to do so without 72 hours from the first vote? How did their PDK counterparts, those who scream daily about the autocratic danger of Albin Kurti, accept a president who is not allowed more than an hour to make the most important decision of her life? Can a person with such a personality give a guarantee of resistance to a regime that will seize everything? Or is this alarm against the autocrat simply a propaganda joke? 

But did the 81 parliamentarians who threw the "pro" ballot into the box have any respect for themselves, while not even formally allowing themselves to think about their vote?  

No matter how you look at it, what happened in the last minutes of October 6th was a parody. One of those events that so deeply ridicules the essence of a state and its institutions that it makes the question inevitable: Would it have been better if it had been done worse? So, would it have been more serious if everyone had gone to new elections convinced of their positions? Isn't it worth paying a higher price for coherence and continuity, rather than eroding trust in elected politicians to this point and so openly ignoring institutions? 

Some of these dilemmas will be answered by the behavior that Justina Shiroka Pula will have in the office of the president. However, the sudden way in which she was catapulted from the Prizren dinner to the assembly hall does not give much hope for optimism. 

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