Kosovo Constitutional Court is reported to have reached its verdict last night on whether Fatmir Sejdiu can continue to keep two posts, that of President of Kosovo and LDK leader.The court acted on a June petition by opposition members of the parliament.

The Court found that Sejdiu has breached the Constitution by keeping two posts at the same time.

Although Sejdiu had frozen his post at the LDK, the Court said it does not recognize the freezing of functions and that Sejdiu will have to choose which posts he wants to keep in the future.

Sources told Koha Ditore that the Court’s decision will be announced in several days’ time or early October. At the same time, Sejdiu’s Spokesperson Xhavit Beqiri said they will not issue any comments until they receive the official decision from the Constitutional Court.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said Monday that he was would step down, in the wake of a court ruling that found he violated the constitution by holding several posts.

"Dear citizens of Kosovo, I have resigned today as president of Kosovo," he said in a prepared statement.

Sejdiu said that he believes he "did not violate the constitution, but the Constitutional Court saw it differently." He said he was stepping down out of respect for the ruling.

The resignation comes a year ahead of general elections in Kosovo, which were to include a vote for the new president. It also comes as Sejdiu has struggled to keep the LDK under control amid internal dissension.

The Kosovo president is elected in parliament. In case of resignation or death, he is provisionally replaced by the parliament speaker, in this case Jakup Krasniqi. The president's term of office lasts five years.

Sejdiu was re-elected president in January 2008. He had been elected for the first time after the death of Ibrahim Rugova.

Epoka e Re reports on the front page that interesting developments are expected in the local political landscape after the Constitutional Court’s ruling that President Fatmir Sejdiu has violated the Constitution by keeping both the post of President and that of LDK leader.

A source from the LDK chairmanship told the paper that Eqrem Kryeziu, from the party’s chairmanship, is expected to be proposed for the post of President of Kosovo after Sejdiu's resignation.

Statement by the President of Republic of Kosovo, Dr. Fatmir Sejdiu
Dear people of Republic of Kosovo: I have resigned today as President of Republic of Kosovo. As of 10 February 2006, as President of the Republic of Kosovo and its entire people, I have exercised this function responsibly and with an unreserved commitment and clear conscience, keeping the fundamental interests of the people and our beloved country as a main guide.

All of my life, I have respected institutions that have emerged from the free votes of the people. I have engaged in accomplishing the political will of the people of Kosovo for freedom and independence and I have led the process that has resulted in the independence of our country responsibly.

In investing my belief and devotion to accomplishing this life and professional objective, I have always found guidance and support in the tradition of my family and people and Kosovo’s friends.

My today’s gesture reaffirms my commitment to showing respect for institutions and decisions that they take.

Dear citizens of Republic of Kosovo,

Long years of my engagement as university professor and my scientific and professional experience have motivated me to remain at the centre of major political processes that our country and people have gone through. When I look back on the past, I feel proud of a modest value that I have added to the process that has led to Kosovo’s freedom and independence.

During these years as President, I have had the chance to be closely involved in drafting the highest legal act of our country, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. It was based on this very experience, debates and decisions that were taken during that process and continuous support and consultations and agreements with country’s political forces and international stakeholders that I have believed that keeping the position of the LDK Leader by not exercising that function, as the Constitution provides, does not constitute a violation to the Constitution. However, since the Constitutional Court has ruled otherwise, I respect its ruling, despite the fact that the ruling rendered by the Court or a reasoning thereto has not been served on me.

During these years as President, I have invested my entire knowledge and energy in ensuring that the Republic of Kosovo builds free and democratic institutions. I have strived, dear citizens, for your voice to be heard around the world. I have spoken and I have engaged in your visions and dreams, in the century-long quest of our people for freedom and a prosperous future in the bosom of the large family of free nations.

Of course, I have faced multiple challenges on the way, which I have overcome with a civic courage and institutional accountability.

In politics, I have always been a proponent of prudent decisions. I have never supported acts of violence, hatred speech or intolerance. In my political career, I was guided by the principles of ethics, which I will not forsake in the future either.

The past political processes were not easy. Democratic force and potential still need to grow in our society. In our political movement, we can find an extraordinary example of what can be done when democratic spirit and civic vision unite and when the values of a nation and a country are duly promoted.

Allow me to remind you, dear citizens, that in the 90s, when he was alive, our historic president Dr. Ibrahim Rugova spoke of independence, deployment of NATO troops, international protectorate and construction of Durrës-Prishtina highway and many people held this, even scornfully, an utopist idea. However, you, people of Kosovo, have always believed in his words and farsighted vision and, fortunately, the time showed that he was right.

The power of President Rugova’s vision lay in his refrain from looking back at those who swore at him, insulted him or despised him because of their personal or clan gains.

Dear citizens:

A while ago, before the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo, I have said that:
“In democratic systems, political setups come and go. What remains is people’s observation about them. The value of political setups is determined by people’s trust, which is the sovereign of a country, the determiner of everyone’s political weight. We are passers-by. It is the interest of our people and country that remains. The eternity of our country has been molded by our fathers, by Kosovars of good will who strove and sacrificed for it for centuries. Though as a generation, young and elderly, we were so lucky as to live in the century of Kosovo’s freedom and independence, we are also bound to carry the burden of our successes and failures alike. Accordingly, we might have been the luckiest of all generations, but we must work a lot to be remembered for good deeds. Let me just remind that you that it is us that will write our own memory for the future generations, for the best or the worst.”
I will remain true to this motto. I strongly believe that my today’s gesture is in the interest of our people and precious country, the Republic of Kosovo.

Hereby, I reaffirm my strong resolution to invest all my energy and knowledge in a democratic progress and development in our country and in its speedy accession to the European Union and NATO, in permanent friendship with the United States of America and neighborliness with the countries of the region, as a partner committed to peace and stability.

I will never give up striving for the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of Kosovo, as a state with institutions that observe the law, under which each citizen feels equal.

Accordingly, I thank You, respectable citizens, for Your support. In addition, I want to thank the Members of the Parliament of Kosovo for the trust that they have had and still maintain in me.

Dear people of Republic of Kosovo,

We still have a lot work to do together for the future of the Republic of Kosovo. Our work does not stop here. Many challenges remain ahead of us, but we will overcome them, as always, with courage, prudence and engagement. We all share the obligation to provide an essential contribution in ensuring that our country joins civilized, free and democratic societies and countries.

God Bless Republic of Kosovo and its people!
God Bless Republic of Kosovo’s friends!