Out of 20 Serbia’s Parliament committees, only one is headed by an opposition MP, after the ruling coalition’s deputies replaced the president of the Commission for Diaspora.

The only remaining opposition MP who heads a parliamentary body, the Committee for European Integration, is Nenad Canak, the leader of the League of Vojvodina’s Social-democrats (LSV).

Vojvodina is Serbia’s northern province with the city of Novi Sad as its capital.

Commenting on the public criticism that followed the ruling coalition’s deputies move, saying it was generally accepted good practice in the parliaments across the world, the regime said there was no obligation to elect opposition MPs to the posts.

In the 2008-2012 parliament when today’s main ruling force, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), was in opposition still as the united ultra-nationalist Radical Party, 11 out of 30 committees were headed by their or members of other non-ruling parties.

The number started decreasing when the SNS came to power, first to seven out of 20, then four, two and it finally came down to a single opposition member to head any parliamentary commission.

“It was common in the parliamentary practice for the opposition to head some important committees which should control the vital state services, especially police, secret police and the army,” Gordana Comic of the Democratic Party, said.

“But now, the ruling majority is abusing the procedure, mocking everything that is the essence of the parliamentarian life,” she added.

The SNS told N1 television that their MPs had initially elected two presidents and nine deputy heads of different commissions and that there would have been more of them had they accepted the posts.

The party, however, did not elaborate on the current situation with only one opposition MP heading a parliamentary body.

But Vladimir Orlic of the SNS said there was no any obligation in that respect, and that the issue is exclusively in the hands of the parliamentary majority and depended on a deal among the deputies’ clubs.

“There is no obligation, it’s true,” Rasa Nedeljkov, from the CRTA NGO which is following the work of the parliament as a part of a programme, said.

He added that if there was no control, “the executive authorities can do whatever they want to and make mistakes even if not deliberately.”