Kosovo’s highest court has ruled that the election in February of Behgjet Pacolli as president was unconstitutional.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
Pacolli, a naturalised Swiss, was elected by a slim majority after three rounds of voting by the new Kosovar parliament.
Monday’s ruling by the constitutional court came after an opposition party filed a complaint saying irregularities marred the voting process. The court ruling said Pacolli was elected by an unconstitutional procedure but did not elaborate.
It remained unclear whether there would be another vote in the parliament or if the president would have to resign. The court added that the election of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci was not affected.
The ruling was the second against a Kosovo head of state in six months. President Fatmir Sejdiu resigned in September after the same court said he violated the constitution by also serving as a party leader.
Pacolli founded Swiss-based construction engineering firm Mabetex and is estimated to be worth over SFr1 billion ($1.09 billion). He entered politics in 2006 and took a leading role in forming the New Kosovo Alliance party.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Retired Del Ponte eyes inquiry in Kosovo
This content was published on
Del Ponte, who was prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for eight years from 1999 to 2007, is returning to Switzerland after three years as ambassador to Argentina. The prosecutor created an international controversy with the 2008 publication of the book The Hunt: War Criminals and Me in which she described…
This content was published on
Pacolli – pronounced Patsolli – spoke to swissinfo.ch, as he was driving around the country on a fact-finding exercise, about smear campaigns in the past and challenges in the future. The 59-year-old controversial construction entrepreneur, whose fortune is estimated at up to SFr1 billion ($1.08 billion), said the country needed to put its recent war…
This content was published on
When Kosovo became the world’s 193rd nation state on February 17, 2008, it was a cause for huge celebrations in the capital Pristina. Giant letters spelling out the words “New Born” were erected there as part of an outpouring of national pride. For the majority ethnic Albanian population, it marked the end of what they…
This content was published on
On February 17, 2008, the former Serbian province of Kosovo declared its independence. The Swiss government was one of the first to recognise Kosovo as an independent state. Ethnic Albanians make up 92 per cent of the population of 2.2 million, but Serbs still dominate the north of the country.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.