Kosovo’s newly elected president, Behgjet Pacolli, has said that he will not resign despite a court ruling that his election in February was not valid.
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In an apparent reversal of his original position, Pacolli, who holds dual Kosovan and Swiss citizenship, told a local radio station in Kosovo on Thursday that there was no need to resign while the coalition government figures out what to do.
On Wednesday he was reported to have stepped down from his post, after
Kosovo’s nine-member Constitutional Court ruled that his election “was unconstitutional and shall no longer be in force”.
The court said more than one candidate for the presidency was required for an election to be valid and at least two-thirds of parliament’s 120 lawmakers had to be present. Only 67 participated in the election of Pacolli, who scraped through after three rounds of voting.
Most opposition members had walked out in protest at Pacolli’s nomination.
Pacolli, a multi-millionaire who owns a construction company based in canton Ticino, spoke cautiously about his political future on Thursday.
“I’m not sure I’ll run again. It depends on the coalition,” he said.
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Pacolli steps down after court ruling
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But according to one of his advisors, Pacolli, a naturalised Swiss, will stand for re-election. Kosovo’s nine-member Constitutional Court said on Wednesday last month’s vote in parliament “was unconstitutional and shall no longer be in force”. In the ruling posted on its website, the court said more than one candidate for the presidency was required for…
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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.…
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Pacolli, a controversial construction entrepreneur with a fortune estimated at up to SFr1 billion ($1.1 billion), was elected in a third round of voting on Tuesday, with just 62 votes in the 120-seat parliament. He did not receive the required two-thirds of the vote in the first two rounds. The new parliament was sworn in…
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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…
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