Kosovo’s Constitutional Court on Friday prohibited any further action by MPs in parliament to constitute a government until September 30, following a complaint filed by the Belgrade-backed party, Srpska Lista.

The court is now reviewing the legality of the parliament’s August 26 and 28 sessions, which failed to elect a deputy speaker from the ranks of Kosovo’s Serb community, a position guaranteed to them by the constitution.

On August 30, Dimal Basha, the newly elected speaker, from the Vetevendosje party, which won the February elections, declared parliament inaugurated.

He also argued that “a failure to elect one of the five deputy speakers [from the Serbian community] … cannot become an obstacle that blocks the constitution of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo”.

Normally, once the speaker declares parliament inaugurated, the path is open to establish other key institutions, including the government.

However, considering that a complaint had been filed by Srpska Lista, the court ordered “the suspension of all decisions and actions of the elected members of the Assembly, and any further procedure for the formation of the Government”.

This was being done “to avoid risks or irreparable damage related to the establishment of state institutions and the issuance of decisions contrary to the Constitution”.

Srpska Lista challenged the constitutionality of the August 26 and 28 sessions, claiming that the election of deputy speakers from the non-majority communities, done separately for the Serb community, was illegal because a parliamentary regulation states that “the election of the deputy speakers shall be carried out in a single procedure … without the possibility of selective division”.

The party also asked for a review of the constitutionality of the election of an ethnic Bosniak MP, former Deputy Prime Minister Emilia Redzepi, as a deputy speaker, on the same grounds.

Perparim Kryeziu, spokesperson for the acting government, told the media on Friday that the current acting government would continue in office for the time being.

“Article 30 of the Law on Government clearly states that the Government in resignation continues to exercise its responsibilities, in accordance with the limitations set forth in this same law, until the election of the new Government by the Parliament,” he said.

This is the fourth time the Constitutional Court has been asked to review the work of the new parliament since the February 9 elections.

On June 27, the Court ordered MPs to end their long-running deadlock and inaugurate a new parliament within 30 days, after they failed to elect a speaker.

While the Vetevendosje party had insisted on its candidate, the now deputy speaker, Albulena Haxhiu, other MPs had failed to back her.

On August 8, the Court gave MPs another 30 days to choose a speaker, prohibiting the same candidate from being nominated more than three times – and ordering an open vote.

Dimal Basha was eventually elected as speaker. However, MPs did not elect a deputy to Basha from the Serb community representatives.