
The parliamentary parties of the ruling majority and opposition held Wednesday at the Serbian Parliament their fourth meeting on electoral conditions and recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
N1 learnt from sources in the opposition that there is no political will to hold all local elections at the same time and to postpone them for the fall.
N1’s reporter said the meeting was also attended by Ivica Dacic of the Socialist Party of Serbia, and representatives of the CRTA democracy watchdog, while, unlike at the previous meeting, foreign embassies’ representatives were not present. On behalf of the opposition Serbia Against Violence (SPN) coalition the meeting was attended by Miroslav Aleksic, Marinika Tepic, Zdravko Ponoc, Zoran Lutovac, Radomir Lazovic, Biljana Djordjevic and Borislav Novakovic.
Serbian Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic had invited all MP caucuses, civil society representatives and international parties to a meeting to “discuss further work on fulfilling the recommendations aimed at advancing the electoral process in Serbia.”
The previous meeting, held on April 11, was attended by US Ambassador Christopher Hill, and European Union Delegation chief Emmanuel Giaufret, while the Ecological Uprising, which is a member of the SPN coalition, and the NADA coalition refused to attend that meeting.
Following last week’s meeting, Brnabic invited all dialogue participants to submit proposals on ways to continue implementing the recommendations, and said that all proposals would be accepted.
Among other things, the opposition proposed changes to relevant laws on residence registration with a 12-month period after change of residence when voters would be required to vote at their old polling stations, the formation of a working body to monitor the implementation of ODIHR recommendations, the formation of a commission to review the voter registry, and a stop to campaigning for the June 2 Belgrade elections because the legal framework for their holding has still not been agreed on.
The Parliament speaker had said she agrees to all the proposals, but refused to delay the Belgrade elections called for June 2, adding that they would be discussed at the next meeting.
The opposition on Tuesday submitted a new demand, asking for changes to the constitutional law so that Belgrade and all other local elections could be held in the fall because there is no time to implement all ODIHR recommendations by June 2, which Brnabic refused, saying the request is unconstitutional.
Serbia Against Violence representatives said they will decide by Friday, April 19, on whether or not the coalition will participate in the coming Belgrade elections.