If the Government’s Draft Law on Electronic Media is adopted in the Serbian Parliament, the opposition will gain the right, that is, an excuse to take some more drastic action, opposition MP Vladeta Jankovic told N1.

Jankovic told the N1 TV New Day show that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced elections for December 17 because things are going “downhill” for him and that he is trying to “catch an early train.”

“There are also some circumstances that are fortunate for Vucic. Remember the elections held a year and a half ago, when the war in Ukraine broke out on February 24, right in the middle of the election campaign. That cut us down. Now a war in the Middle East all of a sudden. It is a tragedy, but it is just what Vucic needed, because it averts the attention of the international community and of all those the opposition could have potentially relied on for some kind of support,” said Jankovic.

He says the outcome of the vote depends on the opposition’s opportunity to address a wider circle of voters. However, Jankovic describes the Government’s legislative initiative regarding the media as “bullying and brash.”

The electoral conditions were dreadful and now they are becoming ridiculous, Jankovic said commenting the Government’s Draft Law on Electronic Media to which two paragraphs were added in Article 122, overnight, following a public hearing, stipulating that if an operator and a broadcaster fail to reach an agreement on the price of services, the final price is determined by the Regulatory body for electronic media (REM).

If this passes, if it is tabled in the Parliament, and I am sure it will pass – I would say that the opposition then gains the right, an excuse to take some more drastic action, said Jankovic.

He voiced his opinion that the opposition should unite in the demand for five to seven minutes in all Serbian state TV (RTS) news broadcasts “until the last Thursday before the elections,” and to propose two editors who would be put in charge of this section of the news broadcasts.

This is a demand that “the Progressives’ legions will scream at,” said Jankovic, adding that, if the Government refuses this, more drastic measures should be taken.

“In my opinion, that should be a 24-hour RTS entry and exit blockade, so thing are heated up to the maximum. Without this elections are pointless (…) If the government were to take drastic measures, then that would be a whole different playing field. I know this maybe sounds dangerous, but I see no other solution,” said Jankovic.

Asked whether the opposition should maybe boycott the elections, Jankovic said it definitely should not opt for that because “we’ve already played that game and we saw how it played out.”

“When under pressure, Vucic becomes increasingly dangerous”

If this Draft Law on Electronic Media is adopted as it is, we will practically lose all independent television stations, and that would be “catastrophic,” cautioned Jankovic.

He recalled that the government withdrew draft legislation in the past only when things “got tough.”

“So I am going back to my wicked, aggressive idea – when the ground starts to shake, they withdraw, it was like that with Rio Tinto and with some other laws,” said Jankovic.

He cautioned that Vucic becomes increasingly dangerous when he is under pressure.

“He and this entire corrupt system have been cornered into a situation in which they become particularly dangerous,” said Jankovic.

His message to the opposition is that “it is important to remove this criminal regime,” following which everyone can go their own way.