Serbia to have new parliament formed in matter of weeks, says parliament president

Serbia will have a new parliament in a matter of weeks, and if a majority is formed, there will be no need for new elections, said Serbia’s parliament President Vladimir Orlić.

Orlić told the media that the new convocation of parliament will be constituted in the following weeks, “all in accordance with procedure and law”.

The December 17 elections were widely criticised by independent observers, the international community, the opposition and members of the public due to credible claims of vote buying, voter pressuring, and multiple violations of democratic standards.

“The people have chosen the majority of SNS and Aleksandar Vučić for that Parliament, and the majority will soon choose a new government. We will talk with our traditional partners from Vojvodina’s alliance of Hungarians, we will talk to everyone, but the main topic will be the further strengthening and development of Serbia in order to achieve goals set until 2027”, Orlić told Kurir.

If a majority is formed in Belgrade, there will be no need for new elections, but if not, they will be held and the people will speak their mind, Orlić added.

The European Commission said reform of the voting system will be a fundamental part of the Serbian path to the EU. They also said there must be an independent investigation into the vote, while Belgrade has taken no steps towards starting one.

Meanwhile, the ‘Serbia against violence’ opposition coalition has announced new protests for 16 January. The date chosen marks the sixth anniversary of the assassination of Oliver Ivanović, leader of the Civic initiative “Serbia, Democracy, Justice”. The protest will be held in downtown Belgrade, and the opposition coalition has called it a stand against violence, vote theft and rewriting the will of the people.

The protest will start in front of the Republic electoral commission, and then proceed to Saint Mark’s church where people will light candles in remembrance of Ivanović whose murder in North Mitrovica has not yet been solved.

Ivanovic’s brother Miroslav told a court in 2022, he believed his brother was killed for political reasons. He explained Oliver had complained about the power of Serb organised crime in Mitrovica, had been increasingly critical of the Serbian government in Belgrade, and had disputes with the Serb List political party in north Kosovo.

Miroslav also told the court that Milan Radoicic, former vice-president of Serb List and now wanted over leading the 24 September terrorist attack in Kosovo, was behind ordering the murder. Radoicic denes any involvement as does the Serbian government.

(Euractiv.rs | Bojana Zimonjić Jelisavac, Alice Taylor | Euractiv.com)