The Zaev – Ahmeti regime seems prepared to declare the events in the Parliament yesterday as a completed vote of no confidence, which failed and meant that the Zaev Government remains in place.

The vote was abandoned by the opposition after one BESA member of Parliament went missing during the day – in an apparent kidnapping, leaving the opposition without the agreed 61 votes. A dejected looking Zaev came to the Parliament late in the evening, joined mostly by DUI party members of the Government, and sat there while Speaker Talat Xhaferi declared the proceedings finished.

This is important for Zaev because if the process is declared completed, the opposition can’t initiate a new vote of no confidence in the next 90 days.

Law professor Tanja Karakamiseva responds that the vote did not take place, and therefore the 90 days rule is not in effect.

There was no vote. This means that the legal provision is not met. When Speaker Xhaferi says that the Government was not voted out, it is only his own opinion. The opposition doesn’t have to wait for 90 days. If they get to 61 votes, they can raise a vote of no confidence again, Karakamiseva said.