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Serbia opposition calls for early elections

Published 07 February 2011
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Opposition parties rallied for a huge demonstration in central Belgrade on Saturday (5 February), calling for an early legislative vote to be scheduled in April. BETA, EurActiv's media partner in Serbia, reports.

The protesters had rallied for a peaceful protest around the opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), a nationalist party.

Tomislav Nikolić, SNS leader, said that unless the deadline was honoured, he would call protests in the capital again until the demands were met.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2012 in Serbia but the opposition wants them held sooner.

Rising prices, unemployment and poverty has led to discontent with Serbia's pro-European Union government, Voice of America reported.

Nikolić accused Serbia's ruling pro-European bloc of hindering change in Serbia and allowing the proliferation of corruption and crime. He urged protesters to help bring about peaceful and dignified changes in the government to prevent the country from further slipping.

Tomislav Nikolić, once a hard-line nationalist, endorsed the prospect of his country's EU accession two years ago, by abandoning his opposition to a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), the legal basis of Serbia-EU relations (see 'Background').

Aleksandar Vučić, deputy president of SNS, said that the demonstrators had not assembled to "badmouth" either Serbian President Boris Tadić, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkić or Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, but to tell them clearly and openly that they wanted elections.

Velimir Ilić, leader of opposition party New Serbia, told the crowd that "Serbia wants a new leader," while Nikolić advised Tadić not to "play games with Serbia". He also said that the protesters had not come to create either a new Tunisia or Egypt, but a democratic Serbia, to which the crowd chanted: "Elections, elections." According to police sources, 55,000 protesters were present when the rally began. Vučić told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation that over 100,000 people participated in the demonstration.

Positions: 

"The Progressives [the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)] are the most serious opposition party here, but at this moment they may not have enough popular support to mount a successful challenge" to the governing coalition, said Marko Blagojevic, director of operations at the Belgrade-based Centre for Free Elections and Democracy, quoted by Bloomberg.

Background: 

Serbia, the 'core country' of the former Yugoslavia, is now on track to join the EU after a series of fratricidal wars in the nineties tested the international community's resolve and engaged considerable diplomatic and military resources.

However, the spectre of war still looms large over the country's EU association process.

In June 2004, reformist Boris Tadić was elected president of Serbia. The same year, the EU launched a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) process – which in EU jargon means a special procedure for Western Balkan countries that opens the way to full EU accession.

SAA negotiations were launched but were soon blocked due to lack of progress on Serbia's co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

In October, EU foreign ministers finally found a formula to unblock the launch of accession talks with Serbia.

Two weeks ago, the European Parliament gave its green light to the SAA, but tied its support to a series of conditions.

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