LOCAL PRESS

RIK announces preliminary results of parliamentary, presidential elections (Tanjug)

The Republic Election Commission (RIK) announced on Monday night the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections, based on the processed 8,007 polling stations. RIK President Vladimir Dimitrijevic said at the RIK session that the number of voters registered in the voter list was 6,268,496, of whom 3,675,064 went to the polls, while the number of voters who voted was 3,668,149. He stated that the number of invalid ballots was 109,294, and the number of valid ballots was 3,558,855. According to him, the list “Aleksandar Vucic – Together we can do everything” won 42.97%, or 1,576,082 votes, while the list “Marinika Tepic – United for the Victory of Serbia” received 13.57%, or 497,797 votes. The list “Ivica Dacic – Prime Minister of Serbia” won 11.50% or 421,697 votes, while the coalition “Hope for Serbia” received 5.39%, or 197,536 votes, Dimitrijevic specified. Also, as he stated, the list “We have to” won 4.63%, i.e., 169,812 votes, and the list “Bosko Obradovic – Serbian Movement Dveri – POKS – Milos Parandilovic – Patriotic Bloc for the Reconstruction of the Kingdom of Serbia” received 3.83% or 140,519 votes. The list “Zavetnici” won 137,243 votes, which is 3.74%, while the list “Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians” received 1.60%, or 58,714 votes, said Dimitrijevic. He added that 33,132 voters voted for the “Mufti’s Bequest” list, which is 0.90%, 23,456 voters, or 0.64%, voted for the “Together for Vojvodina” list, and 0.55% or 20,139 voters voted for the “SDA Sandzak” list. Other lists that participated in the elections held on Sunday did not pass the census. The RIK also announced the preliminary results of the presidential elections, based on the processed 8,030 polling stations. Aleksandar Vucic, the candidate of the coalition “Aleksandar Vucic – Together we can do everything”, won 58.59%, i.e., 2,157,008 votes, while Zdravko Ponos, the candidate of the coalition “United for the Victory of Serbia”, won 18.32%, i.e., 674,567 votes. 219,970 or 5.97% of voters voted for the candidate of the “Hope” coalition, Milos Jovanovic, and 161,212 voters, that is 4.38%, voted for the candidate of the “Patriotic Bloc” coalition, Bosko Obradovic. Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski, the candidate of Zavetnici, received 4.25%, or 156,635 votes, while Biljana Stojkovic, the candidate of the coalition “We have to”, won 3.20%, or 117,784 votes. 740,866 voters, which is 2.03%, voted for Branka Stamenkovic, the candidate of the “Sovereigntists” coalition, and 32,074 voters, or 0.87%, voted for Misa Vacic, the candidate of the group of citizens “Serbian Patriots – Misa Vacic”.

Vucic-led list wins 38.15 pct of votes in Belgrade elections (Tanjug)

The City of Belgrade Electoral Commission on Monday adopted a report on the preliminary results of Sunday’s elections for the city assembly, according to which the Aleksandar Vucic – Together We Can Do It All electoral list won 38.15 pct of votes, or 48 seats in the assembly, with 88.63 pct of votes counted. The Vladeta Jankovic – United for Victory of Belgrade list follows with 21.2 pct (26 seats in the assembly) and the We Must coalition is in third with 10.75 pct (13 seats in the assembly). The Ivica Dacic for PM of Serbia – Toma Fila for Mayor of Belgrade list is in fourth place with 7.01 pct (eight seats in the assembly). The Milos Jovanovic – HOPE for Belgrade list won 6.3 pct support, which is equivalent to seven seats in the city assembly. The Serbian Oathkeepers party list, led by Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski, won 3.64 pct (four seats in the assembly), while the Bosko Obradovic-fronted Dveri-Movement for Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia list won 3.4 pct (four seats in the assembly). The Serbian Radical Party, the Boris Tadic-led Come On People coalition and the Sovereignists all failed to clear the electoral threshold. The turnout in the elections was 57.98 pct, the commission also said.

Jankovic: It is not over yet in Belgrade (N1)

Vladeta Jankovic, opposition candidate for mayor of Belgrade, assessed that the opposition “very seriously” threatened the SNS power in the capital. Jankovic assessed that “the matter is not over yet” when it comes to the outcome of the elections in Belgrade and the formation of the majority in the city parliament. “Our expectations may have been too high, my approach was that the victory in Belgrade was realistic. The opposition won more than 50 percent of the votes in Belgrade, that is an important difference, but the electoral system punished us,” Jankovic told N1 television. He assessed that it is “realistic” to get into a situation in which the formation of the majority in the Belgrade City Assembly is evenly split between the ruling coalition and the opposition. “Then the masks will have to fall, and in that case I do not believe that we will be able to realize the majority we got in Belgrade in the number of votes,” Jankovic said. Dobrica Veselinovic, who was the candidate of the coalition “We must” for mayor, assessed that it is “certain” that the SNS does not have the necessary majority in Belgrade. “SNS recorded a serious decline in Belgrade. In the last Belgrade elections, they had 56 percent and Aleksandar Sapic nine percent, and in these elections together they recorded a decline of 25 percent. SNS does not have a majority in most Belgrade municipalities. It is a new political landscape. Now the question is who is on which side of history,” Veselinovic said. He added that the legal team of the coalition “We must” (“Moramo”) is working on submitting objections to the work of polling stations in Belgrade. “That will happen today, and then we will know the extent of what happened on Sunday,” Veselinovic said.

Int’l observers: Elections passed calmly, irregularities noticed (Tanjug)

In a report, international observers from the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament concluded that Sunday’s elections in Serbia had passed calmly but that irregularities had been noticed, including large numbers of voters at polling stations, which they said had made full vote secrecy impossible. At a press conference, OSCE Special Coordinator Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, who headed a group of the organization’s short-term observers, said the report only covered Serbia’s presidential and parliamentary elections and that the main assessment was that the elections pointed to diversity of political options. He said the contenders had been competing on an uneven playing field and that media had favored the ruling coalition, and added that excessive pressure on public sector employees over who they would vote for had been noticed as well. Recent amendments adopted after an inter-party dialogue have led to progress and changes, but reforms must be continued, Hadjiyiannis said. He said the legislative framework had ensured an adequate foundation for democratic elections, but added that unauthorized persons who were accompanying voters, as well as voters who were photographing their own ballots, had been spotted at many polling stations. The observers also said the vote count was organized in an efficient manner but without transparency. Hadjiyiannis said that, although the Serbian national electoral commission had announced the number of people who turned out to vote, it had failed to release the figures after the closure of polling stations and that Aleksandar Vucic had announced his own victory despite a lack of official information.

ENEMO: Intimidation, vote-buying affect people trust in Serbia election process (Beta/N1)

The European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) said on Monday that allegations of intimidation of voters and vote-buying during the election campaign in Serbia affected the citizens’ general trust in the election process. The head of the ENEMO mission Pierre Peytier told reporters in Belgrade that the election campaign was largely disrupted by these allegations and accusations, especially those directed at civil servants by ruling coalition parties. “Many of these forms of pressure were cited as continuous, and they began long before the official start of the election process,” Peytier said. He added that “the long-term practice of abuse of state resources and abuse of official position significantly limited the possibilities for equal conditions”. “The blurring of the border between the party and the state is contrary to international standards and was expected to affect the environment in which the campaign took place negatively,” he said. Peytier added that, according to their observations, the transparency of campaign financing increased, but that several reports were still not available on the website of the Anti-Corruption Agency. “The lack of a proactive attitude of the Agency, which would reflect in eliminating this shortcoming in time, and the absence of sanctions taken before election day due to non-compliance with this legal requirement, are reasons for concern,” he underlined. In the limited number of polling stations monitored by ENEMO, Peytier said the entire procedure, including counting votes, mainly was conducted according to the law. “However, the Mission was informed of attacks and physical clashes near polling stations, violence against candidates and long lines of voters in front of polling stations” after the polls closed at 8 pm, he added. Peytier said the ENEMO would remain in Serbia in April to monitor the post-election process. He would submit the final report two to three months after the official announcement of the election results. ENEMO analyst Ana Mikeladze said the voter registration process lacked transparency and expressed concern regarding the accuracy of the voter list. “Mostly concerning the dead voters on the voter lists and the allegations about phantom voters,” Mikeladze said. She added that the number of registered voters for the referendum held in January was about 7,500 higher than the number of voters in the April elections, saying “there was no clear explanation for that reduction”. Legal expert Nina Rihamadze said the legal framework in which the elections were held underwent “significant changes” two months before the elections by adopting recommendations from domestic and foreign observation organizations. “However, key aspects of the election remained unaddressed. ENEMO notes that the recent amendment process was a missed opportunity to further address shortcomings in media coverage, campaign finance regulations and misuse of administrative resources that would reduce inequality among election participants,” she said.

Protest in front of Serbian central election commission (N1)

A crowd of several hundred people gathered in front of the Republic Election Commission (RIK) on Monday evening to protest the commission’s decision not to release any results of the elections on Sunday night. The protest was organized by the Assembly of Free Serbia and Ecological Uprising. The RIK headquarters is in the old Serbian parliament building across the street from the presidency. Police cars were parked at two intersections after the crowd blocked the street. Ecological Uprising official Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta told N1 that his organization would demand a public recount of all ballots. He said the protest was organized to ask the RIK chairman who decided to close the commission to the media overnight. “We are waiting for official data on turnout along with irregularities which definitely happened,” he said, adding that he will defend every vote and not permit election fraud in Belgrade or the rest of Serbia.

Macron, Putin, Zeman, leaders of neighboring states congratulate Vucic on election win (Beta)

World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the Czech president, Milos Zeman and many international officials, have congratulated Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on his victory in the Serbian elections on 3 April. The Press Office of the President of Serbia reported on 4 April that the region’s leaders, too, congratulated the president on the election win, including his Croatian peer, Zoran Milanovic, the Slovenian president and prime minister, Borut Pahor and Janez Jansa, North Macedonia’s PM Dimitar Kovacevski, and a Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik. Congratulations have also come from the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama, the Bulgarian and Hungarian presidents, Rumen Radev and Ktalin Novak, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

Coalition We Must: What matters most is that SNS and SPS together do not have majority in Belgrade (Nova S/Beta)

The lead name on the list of candidates for Serbian parliament nominated by the coalition We Must Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta said on 4 April that what mattered most was that the Serbian Progressive Party was not a winner in the Belgrade election yet, and that together with the votes that went to the Socialist Party of Serbia, it’s still unable to go over 50 percent. “The Progressives will need to look for a new coalition partner. Aleksandar Vucic didn’t win Belgrade, and can no longer rule alone, but will face strong opposition instead,” Jovanovic said in an interview with the Nova S television. Jovanovic underlined that he had his doubts about a decision by the National Electoral Commission not to announce results until 4 April, and that it was crucial to find out what exactly had happened. “It’s the first time since 2000 that someone at the Commission decided to call it off. Who decided that the Commission, supposed to announce election results, should call it a day, and for what reason,” Jovanovic wanted to know.

Vukadinovic: United for the Victory of Serbia, SNS are the biggest election losers (Beta)

Dordje Vukadinovic, a political analyst, said on 4 April that the United for the Victoryof Serbia and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) were the biggest losers of Serbia’s polls the day before. Vukadinovic said to Beta that the coalition United for the Victory of Serbia had performed below expectations. “It turned out that the coalition had cherished an unrealistic hope that it could score twice as many votes as it actually did. It won far fewer parliamentary seats than expected, and is unlikely to join the Belgrade city authorities, even though their focus had been on the Belgrade polls,” Vukadinovic said. The analyst said that even though the SNS won 122 seats in the parliament of Serbia, the result was below their expectations, too. “A large number of potential SNS votes went to the Socialist Party of Serbia and smaller right-wing parties for their firm nationalist stance and a decision to side with Russia. Vucic can’t be very happy about it, expecting meetings with Western ambassadors and new pressures from that direction. I assume that because of that Vucic will drag out government formation talks for as long as possible, as he usually does,” Vukadinovic said for Beta.

Constant progress in overall relations between Serbia, Italy (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister of Nikola Selakovic talked on the phone on Monday with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Luigi Di Maio. Selakovic expressed satisfaction with the level of overall relations between the two countries, emphasizing that they are constantly advancing thanks to the Strategic Partnership Agreement from 2009. When it comes to economic cooperation, the head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that Italy is one of Serbia’s leading economic partners, our third foreign trade partner and the second largest export market, but also one of the ten largest foreign investors. It is very important that Italy is committed to the EU enlargement process, Selakovic underlined, and in that sense expressed gratitude for the country’s continuous and strong support for Serbia’s European path. He informed his interlocutor about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and the position of the Serbian people in the province, emphasizing that we highly appreciate the contribution that Italy provides to security and stability in Kosovo and in the process of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. The officials also referred to the situation in the region and Eastern Europe, and Selakovic reiterated that Serbia is committed to peace and stability.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik expresses satisfaction over Vucic and Orban’s victory in elections in Serbia and Hungary (ATV) 

Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Milorad Dodik said a brilliant victory of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in presidential elections in Serbia means continuation of development, and Serbia and Republika Srpska (RS)’ stability. “I have already congratulated President Vucic for his victory that is important, because it is a great interest of the RS that Serbia is stable and strong, and Vucic’s victory means that exactly,” Dodik was quoted as saying. Commenting the elections in Hungary, Dodik expressed satisfaction over victory of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “For us it is very important, because it is our great interest, not only of politicians but here of the whole people, that Serbia is stable and strong, and Vucic and his team’s victory in these elections means exactly that. As for Orban, I congratulated him. Of course, I have been recently in contact (with Orban) in regard to all that. I am glad about his victory. It means that commitment to the nation, to the state, the family, people, their security, safety and values they support certainly is recognized by the voters in Hungary”, said Dodik for the media. Dodik said that Orban’s victory was a guarantee of good cooperation between Hungary and the RS and Serbia. It is certain that cooperation and friendly relations will be continued, which were most obvious when the German administration called for sanctions against Dodik.

Other RS officials congratulate Vucic in Serbian presidential elections (BN TV) 

The RS officials have also congratulated Vucic on his election victory. RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic congratulated Vucic and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on their victory in the presidential, parliamentary and local elections in Serbia, with the conviction that Serbia, as the most important factor of peace and stability in the region, will continue on the path of development. SDS leader Mirko Sarovic said that Vucic’s victory will mean a secure future for Serbia and the Serb people. “I am convinced that with your victory for the president of Serbia and the victory of SNS in the parliamentary elections, Serbia will continue to walk the path of stability and progress. Economically strong and politically stable Serbia is a strong support for everyone in the RS,” Sarovic was quoted as saying. PDP leader Branislav Borenovic and Banja Luka Mayor Drasko Stanivukovic (PDP) said that results of the elections in Serbia will have a positive effect on the stability and progress of the entire region because strong Serbia means strong RS. “This is a historically big and important victory for Serbia,” Borenovic said, adding that Serbia today is one of the most important political, economic and stabilizing factors in the area of the Western Balkans “and it is confirming that day in and day out”. DNS leader Nenad Nesic said that with this victory, Vucic became one of the most successful democratic leaders of the Serb people. “A stable and strong Serbia also means a stable RS, and this was shown by the strong support we received from Serbia in previous years,” Nesic was quoted as saying.

Dzaferovic congratulates Vucic on his victory, stresses importance of stable and good relations between B&H and Serbia (N1) 

The Chairperson and Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic congratulated Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on his victory and said that stable and good relations between B&H and the Republic of Serbia are of primary interest to the benefit of states and their peoples and citizens. Dzaferovic’s congratulatory message reads: “Developing a policy of good neighborliness, based on the principles of mutual respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity and resolving open bilateral issues, leads to the prosperity and progress of B&H and the Republic of Serbia in achieving common European goals.”

Osmanovic: Serbia does not respect B&H’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence; Other B&H politicians comment on Vucic’s victory (Nova BH) 

Politicians from the ruling coalition at the level of B&H commented that the time has come for the EU to put pressure on Vucic regarding Serbia’s choosing between Brussels and Moscow. Commenting on expectations from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s policy towards B&H after the elections, SDA’s Adil Osmanovic stated that Serbia does not respect B&H’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, although it has signed the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA). On the other hand, the opposition at the level of B&H blames authorities for the failure to minimize Vucic’s influence in B&H. NS’ Damir Arnaut assessed that Vucic will surely take advantage of the weakness of the current authorities in Sarajevo led by SDA and DF towards Serbia, concluding that Vucic’s policy towards B&H will become even worse as he is now encouraged by electoral triumph.

Covic congratulates Vucic on his victory (O Kanal) 

HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic congratulated Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on his election victory. “On behalf of the Croat people of B&H and on behalf of my homeland of B&H I send my sincere congratulations to Aleksandar Vucic on another won presidential mandate and the achieved election results of the Serbian Progressive Party in Serbia”, Covic wrote. “I believe that you will responsibly use the strong historical trust of the citizens of Serbia and that the achieved result will create another strong mandate for successful political steps of you and your party. I also believe that our good cooperation, friendship and lasting ties between our homelands, B&H and the Republic of Serbia, will be further deepened and strengthened to the benefit of all our peoples”, Covic added. Covic described Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s victory as ‘magnificent’. “This magnificent victory is a strong proof of trust of Hungarian people in vision of future based on demo-Christian principles of Fidesz party with you at the helm”, Covic wrote in a congratulations note to Orban.

Dzaferovic, Komsic discuss elections reforms in B&H with heads of OSCE missions (FTV) 

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic and B&H Presidency member Zeljko Komsic met with the heads of the OSCE missions. They emphasized the need for holding elections in B&H in October. They said elections should be held regardless of the results of negotiations on changes to the Election Law of B&H. They also emphasized the importance of the package that refers to integrity of the election process – through which citizens’ trust in the election process would be restored.

OSCE delegation meets B&H CEC members to discuss B&H CEC’s activities related to organization of this year’s general elections (Oslobodjenje) 

The Ambassadors of France (Christine Fages), Italy (Stefano Baldi), Germany (Gesa Brautigam), USA (Michael Carpenter) and United Kingdom to the OSCE are paying a visit to B&H from 3 to 5 April. The OSCE delegation on Monday met with members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H Zeljko Bakalar, Jovan Kalaba, Ahmet Santic and Vlado Rogic to discuss the activities carried out by B&H CEC with regard to organization of this year’s general elections. Participants of the meeting pointed out the activities of B&H CEC carried out with the goal to strengthen the integrity, transparency and efficiency of the election process in B&H as well as with the goal to fulfil relevant recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission and B&H CEC’s contribution to the reform of election legislation in B&H.

Novic: Members of IAWG from SNSD and ‘United Srpska’ will not attend IAWG session on Tuesday (Glas Srpske) 

Deputy Chairman of Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) for Electoral Reform Sredoje Novic (SNSD) stated that members of the IAWG from SNSD and ‘United Srpska’ are not going to attend the IAWG session on Tuesday. Novic explained that they decided not to attend the session because none of their proposals was accepted and because the session was not convened in line with the Rules of Procedure. He noted that convening sessions in such manner is not the usual practice unless Chairperson Alma Colo wanted to make sure that nobody attends the session.

Dodik holds meeting in Mostar with leadership of SNSD Board Mostar; Dodik: Serbs and Croats must agree about the position of these two peoples in B&H because it is difficult to reach any agreement with Bosniaks (RTRS) 

On Monday, as the leader of the SNSD Milorad Dodik met with the leadership of the city board of the SNSD in Mostar and members of the party presidency. The meeting was attended by the President of the City Board of the SNSD Mostar Velibor Milivojevic, members of the party presidency, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the SNSD Zoran Tegeltija. It was also planned that Dodik would hold a meeting with HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic on Monday. Dodik said after the meeting that Serbs and Croats must agree about the position of these two peoples in B&H because, as Dodik said, it is difficult to reach any agreement with Bosniaks. Dodik also said that there are decisions of the B&H Presidency that need to be annulled. Dodik pointed out he as the right to raise the issue of Vital National Interest (VNI) which refers to the assessment of students at different levels of education. He said that RS is not seen there. Dodik stated: “As you know, it is constitutionally provided that B&H as a common level has no competence for education”. He added: “Those items on the agenda that have been put forward will be rejected because the RS cannot accept any luxury and to lose competence in that regard.”

Viskovic: Everything ready for withdrawing consent on agreements on transfer of competences (Dnevni list) 

RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic said that, as far as accusations against the RS Government related to the RS National Assembly (RSNA)’s conclusions from December, which are related to withdrawal of consent on agreements on transfer of competences in areas of the VAT, the HJPC and defense, the deadlines have not expired yet. “I do not know why somebody is in a hurry. We have all those issues prepared. However, the moment we are in is not suitable”, said PM Viskovic. The RS PM argued that at the moment when the conclusions were passed, there was no crisis in Ukraine and the prices of energy and basic foodstuff were not going crazy. “We have not given up on that, but now it is more important to deal with inflation and problems that have caught us up due to the crisis in Ukraine,” said PM Viskovic.

Brammertz pays visit to Srebrenica; says what we see today in Ukraine is very reminiscent of crimes we saw in B&H 30 years ago (Hayat) 

Hayat carries that after dozens of dead bodies were discovered on the streets of Kyiv suburb of Bucha and after mass graves were found at several locations in the city, the Ukrainians compared the Russian crimes with what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995. Chief Prosecutor for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) Serge Brammertz paid a visit to Srebrenica on Monday. After laying flowers in Potocari, Brammertz visited the Association ‘Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves’. Representatives of the Association ‘Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves’ said that they cannot tell the Ukrainian mothers who lost their children in the war that it will ever get easier, noting that the only thing that they can say to them is that they know the pain they are going through. President of the Association ‘Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves’ Munira Subasic said that she thought that Europe learned something. “But, unfortunately, it did not. Watching the footage of what is happening in Ukraine these days, I am very upset. It brought me back to 1995. The world is unjust and it showed that for the second and for the third time,” Subasic underlined. President of the Association ‘Srebrenica Mothers’ Fazila Efendic said that she never thought Srebrenica would happen again. “But it seems that it is happening again. It is hard for me and the pictures that I saw on TV of what is happening in Ukraine, it reminded me of our Srebrenica genocide and what we went through,” Efendic said. Brammertz said “what we see today in Ukraine is very reminiscent of the crimes we saw in B&H 30 years ago.” “We all hoped that the war in B&H would be the last war in Europe, but unfortunately history and reality show us that we were wrong,” Brammertz underlined. Hayat stressed that Serbia and Republika Srpska (RS) continue to deny genocide in Srebrenica, calling it a myth or fraud against the Serb people. Brammertz pointed out that one has to put an end to this. Brammertz was quoted as saying: “Coming to Srebrenica always reminds us that our work is still relevant and why it is still important. Many mothers are still looking for their loved ones. Many perpetrators are still free. Some live in Serbia or other countries.”

Plenkovic meets Escobar, discuss electoral reform in B&H (Vecernji list) 

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic received in Zagreb on Monday US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago and US Special Representative for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar with he talked about the electoral reform in B&H. According to a statement issued by the Croatian Government, the Prime Minister paid special attention to the situation in B&H and importance of reaching agreement among the political parties about the Law on Elections of B&H. The statement reads that the agreement is crucial in order for the country to become functional, stable and to continue the path towards the EU and NATO membership and that Plenkovic said that the agreement on the Law on Elections must be based on respecting equality of all three constituent peoples and legitimate representation of the three peoples. According to the daily, in a statement for the media the US diplomat did not want to directly say if he is optimistic that the elections will be held in B&H this year, expressing hope that the elections will be held.

Croatian President: I congratulate Vucic and Orban despite democracy flaws (Hina) 

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Monday congratulated the election winners in Serbia and Hungary “despite deformations of democracy”. “That’s the choice of their voters,” he said. Milanovic said that, in relations with other countries, one should not “lecture” anyone on internal matters such as “what kind of school classes there will be in Warsaw and Budapest, or what they will teach their children.” “That’s their business, that’s their right. We will break the EU up if we start acting like cosmopolitan moralists,” he said. Milanovic said that the current situation was an opportunity for Serbia to finally take a side and decide if it belongs in the West. “Serbia must decide where its place is. Serbia is a member of Partnership for Peace, not of the Warsaw Pact,” he said, adding that Serbia held military exercises with the West and obtained military assistance from it while claims about its big friendship with Russia are “a collective delusion”. Milanovic said that he expects Serbia to face an economic collapse. He noted that Serbs can be very talented and charming, but also self-destructive.

“Ukraine is not quite democratic either” 

In his opening address at the Croatia-US Forum, taking place in Zagreb on Monday and Tuesday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations, Milanovic said that liberal democracies never go to war against one another. The experience shows that truly liberal-democratic countries never go to war against one another, because they have predictable, boring, and limiting decision-making systems, Milanovic said. Asked later about that statement in the context of the Ukraine war, Milanovic said that “neither country (Ukraine and Russia) is quite democratic.” “Ukraine isn’t quite democratic either. It did not start negotiations with the European Union to have some kind of status,” Milanovic said, adding that Ukraine “could not be compared with Croatia and other EU countries.”

Plenkovic congratulates Orban and Vucic on election victories (Hina) 

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Monday congratulated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on their victories in the elections in their respective countries on Sunday. “I extend congratulations to Orban on his convincing victory and his fourth term for premiership,” Plenkovic said after a meeting of his HDZ party in Zagreb on Monday evening. Plenkovic also congratulated Vucic and his Serb Progressive Party (SNS) for having won a majority support in Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary polls. The Croatian PM said that he was particularly happy to see that according to all the available data, the Serbian Croat leader Tomislav Zigmanov, also secured a seat in the Serbian parliament. It is particularly important for the promotion and protection of the interests of the Croats in the Serbian legislature, said Plenkovic.

Grlic-Radman: Vucic’s triumph in Serbia expected (Hina) 

The victory of the incumbent President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic in the Sunday election was expected, Croatian Foreign Minister, Gordan Grlic-Radman, said on Monday. He also said he “welcomed” the election of the representative of the ethnic Croat minority Tomislav Zigmanov election to the country’s parliament. Grlic-Radman said Vucic’s victory in yesterday’s presidential and parliamentary elections could have been expected, “but perhaps not with such a percentage and number.” It is unclear from the state agency Hina’s item whether Grlic-Radman expected the percentage to be lower or higher. The elections have also shown “the strength of the opposition parties and citizens, as the turnout was 59 percent,” he added. Speaking of Zigmanov, he said, “We are pleased that a representative of the Croat minority… has managed to win a seat and that we have a Croat in Serbia’s assembly.” However, Grlic-Radman said, Croatia still demands from Serbia “that both sides allow minority representation in parliament reciprocally.” “Croatia has met its obligation. Croatia has in its parliament a fixed quota of three seats for Serb representatives,” he said, reiterating that Serbia continues to ignore the 2005 agreement on the mutual protection of national minorities. He said Croatia-Serbia relations were “not satisfactory” but that he hoped there would be “enough will” to solve all issues. “The fundamental issue are the persons who gone missing in Homeland War, he added. Croatia is still looking for 1,828 persons disappeared in the Homeland War,” state agency Hina said, using the officially prescribed term for the 1991-95 independence war. “Their families are still alive and this burdens our bilateral relations, as does the compensation to (detention) camp inmates.”

Grlic-Radman also commented on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who declared victory in Sunday’s elections. “We followed the elections and there were announcements of a strong opposition… from the far left to the far right, but it turned out that Orban managed to consolidate his voters,” he said, adding that he had congratulated Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto. Grlic-Radman said Croatia and Hungary had good relations and would continue to “advance” them. He was speaking to the press in Zapresic near Zagreb where he hosted a meeting with his Italian and Slovenian counterparts. The three of them issued a joint statement condemning Russia’s military aggression on Ukraine and said that it was “necessary to prevent any spillover of the war to the Western Balkans”. In a joint statement, Grlic-Radman of Croatia, Anze Logar of Slovenia, and Luigi Di Maio of Italy supported the Ukrainians and agreed stronger cooperation on that issue in the EU, NATO and other multilateral fora. Di Maio and Logar called for imposing new sanctions against Russia as soon as possible. Di Maio said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s visit to Kyiv was the latest concrete act of solidarity with Ukraine. The three ministers met in Zapresic near Zagreb after meeting in Trieste in 2020 and in Brdo Pri Kranju last year. The three key areas of cooperation are connectivity, environmental protection and the blue economy. As an example of cooperation in environmental protection, Grlic-Radman singled out the support for the establishment of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley. Speaking of better connectivity between the three countries, he recalled the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation and underlined the importance of better connecting Trieste and Rijeka.

Milanovic: HVO and Croatian Army have rescued B&H (Nova) 

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic stated on Monday ahead of his visit to Mostar on April 8 to mark the anniversary of formation of the Croat Defense Council (HVO) that the HVO and the Croatian Army have rescued Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). He stressed that the RS Army and Ratko Mladic were not defeated in 1995 by the NATO bombardment but by the Croatian armur units that arrived near Banja Luka, noting that only after their arrival the RB&H Army was able to line up its forces. Milanovic said that Croatia was in a mission to rescue both its own territory and B&H back then, adding that Croatian forces retreated immediately which is something that will never happen again. “It is imprudent to mock or play games with this, as B&H would not have survived if there was not for the HVO, and primarily for the Croatian Army”, Milanovic underlined. “No one has hellish plans for B&H”, Milanovic emphasized. He assures that Croatia has no weapons for doing anything in B&H, and it does not plan to do anything like that. “And B&H does not have two bullets to fire; so, there is no danger of war; but, there is a danger of misery spreading even further – in new episodes”, Milanovic told reporters. Milanovic said it is clear there are attempts in Sarajevo to “rob Croats’’ and called on the foreigners not to interfere with the relations of peoples in B&H, since they have failed to help so far, and “by planting allegedly objective rapporteurs of Sarajevo origin’’ they have additionally undermined relations of peoples in B&H. The new dispute has occurred between Bosniaks and Croats, this time between SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic and Croatian President Zoran Milanovic over the announced ceremony marking the anniversary of the formation of the Croat Defense Council (HVO) in Mostar. Allegedly, Milanovic is expected to line up the soldiers and present awards, which has sparked reactions within the Bosniak bloc in the Federation of B&H (FB&H). The reporter comments that Izetbegovic’s statement that the HVO is “a criminal army” that carried out an aggression against B&H and its division has become a new topic for the “bickering’’ of Bosniak and Croats. Milanovic called on Izetbegovic to “return his father decorations’’ (referring to former B&H Presidency Chairperson Alija Izetbegovic) he received from the wartime Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. The reporter notes that Izetbegovic did not respond on Monday to Milanovic’s call for return of his father’s decoration, however SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic did respond to it. Radoncic advocated the same positions as Izetbegovic in regard to the announced Milanovic’s arrival in Mostar, and he called on Milanovic not to come to Mostar, admitting that the relations between the two peoples are more delicate. “By arriving to the HVO assembly in Mostar, for which the International Court of Justice in The Hague determined it participated in the joint criminal enterprise aimed at ethnic cleansing of parts of B&H from non-Croats, Milanovic definitely is ‘putting his finger in the eyes of Bosniaks’ as the most numerous people, as well as the biggest victim of the genocide and war atrocities of a multiple aggression against B&H. Therefore, Milanovic should reconsider his decision and give up on coming to our country, because, with that, he will contribute to additional worsening of already delicate Bosniak and Croat relations”, reads the statement by Radoncic. Radoncic stated that this presents unnecessary attack on sovereignty of internationally recognized state of B&H. He underlined that the fact that president of another country is coming to other sovereign country to line up the army there, shows that Milanovic is not respecting “our state, its institutions or citizens of B&H”, adding that this can have negative impact on relations between two states and such activities are contrary to inter-state and diplomatic relations.

Foreign Ministers of Croatia, Italy and Slovenia condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine; Stress importance of accelerating process of six Western Balkans countries joining EU (AJB) 

Foreign Ministers of Croatia (Gordan Grlic Radman), Italy (Luigi Di Maio) and Slovenia (Anze Logar) have condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and conveyed joint message of solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people. Al Jazeera Balkans reports the three FMs underlined the importance to avoid the war in Ukraine spilling over on the region, saying maintaining stability of the Western Balkans is of special importance. They stressed it is of special importance for the six Western Balkans countries to remain strongly on its European path. On the occasion, Di Maio said: “We need to build the European Union (EU) community through all the Western Balkans countries joining it. Croatia and Slovenia’ presiding over the EU has given a very important impulse in that direction, and we need to accelerate that enlargement process to the Balkans. Primarily, opening negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia”.

Montenegro officials congratulate Vucic on election victory (CdM) 

President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic congratulated the re-election of the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. “On behalf of the citizens of Montenegro and on my own behalf, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for success in performing this responsible function, for the benefit of all citizens of Serbia and achieving pro-European policy goals, as the only path to peace and stability for our region,” said Djukanovic. The Vice President of the Socialist People’s Party of Montenegro Dragoslav Dado Scekic congratulated the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic on the achieved results and the convincing victory in the general elections that were held in Serbia. “I congratulate Mr. Vucic and the citizens of Serbia on their convincing victory and the achieved election results, who recognized that Serbia, led by Aleksandar Vucic, is going in the right direction. “Responsible and wise policy that he pursues is visibly going in the direction of serious economic and overall development, progress, peace and stability,” said Scekic. According to him, constant work and a great desire for the good of Serbia and its citizens have given results and gave it the wind in the back to continue the vision of a developed and stable state which is stronger than ever. “I am sure that we will strengthen the fraternal relations between Montenegro and Serbia in the period ahead,” concluded Scekic. NOVA leader Andrija Mandic congratulated Vucic on winning the election. “I congratulate to Vucic and SNS in my name, in the name of the NSD and in the name of Serbs in Montenegro on their election victory! This confirms the commitment of the citizens of Serbia to the continued development and protection of all Serbian national interests. “I am sure that peace and stability will mark the future of our brotherly Serbia,” Mandic said on Twitter. The President of the Democratic People’s Party DNP and one of the leaders of the DF Milan Knezevic congratulated Vucic on the achieved results. “It is my special honor and pleasure to congratulate you, the Republic of Serbia and all its citizens, on behalf of all members and supporters of the Democratic People’s Party, as well as on my own behalf, on the fair and democratically conducted presidential, parliamentary and elections in twelve local governments. “Once again, you have shown to Europe and the international community a high democratic capacity and readiness for the citizens of Serbia to confirm their freely expressed will in a highly civilized way,” Knezevic said. I can also congratulate you on the almost two-thirds trust of the citizens of Serbia, who confirmed your personally superior position in the presidential election and showed that they sincerely trust you as a person and statesman. Knezevic assessed that the citizens of Serbia strongly supported Vucic’s recognizable, measured policy in Europe and the world, with an unequal position of the benevolent and non-aligned Republic of Serbia, turned to peaceful coexistence and cooperation with all countries, while preserving their identity, territorial integrity and territorial integrity. On this occasion, let me congratulate you on the dominant rating of the party you lead, with the belief that the SNS will continue to be the political backbone of the affirmative path of the Republic of Serbia,” added Knezevic. He also congratulated Vucic on the high positioning of his party in the elections for local self-governments, with realistic expectations that the SNS will continue to lead Belgrade and other cities in Serbia with programmatically related parties.

Abazovic with Ellis: The focus of our activities is the rule of law and the fight against crime (CdM) 

Political stability, rule of law, unblocking of institutions, fight against transnational crime and a clear Euro-Atlantic course are the main guidelines for further development of Montenegro as a credible international partner, it was announced after the meeting between Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and British Minister Michael Ellis. “The United Kingdom is a partner of Montenegro, which encourages all political actors to engage in dialogue with the aim of reducing political tensions. We give full support to Montenegro and the Western Balkans on their European path. The security institutions of the UK and Montenegro continue to cooperate in terms of numerous security challenges, but also in the fight against international crime, “said British Minister Michael Ellis. In a conversation with Minister Ellis, Abazovic pointed out that Montenegro strives for stability in order to overcome the political crisis, but continues to strengthen its European path and credibility within the NATO partnership, clearly siding with its partners in the context of the international crisis caused by Russia’s invasion the state of Ukraine. Recalling Montenegro’s determination to deal with organized crime at all levels, Abazovic stressed his determination to strengthen the rule of law, noting that the European Parliament, which praised Montenegro in last year’s report, also recognized the fight. “Montenegro strives to achieve results, unblock institutions in order to overcome the crisis and continue to step strongly on our European path. The citizens of Montenegro are seeking justice and security. The process of comprehensive reforms has begun. We are optimistic and we sincerely believe that the new Chief Special Prosecutor will show visible results in the fight against crime and corruption, “Abazovic said.

Raising Reinke: US is calling on Montenegro to impose sanctions on Russia (CdM) 

US Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke said that the United States is calling on Montenegro to impose sanctions on Russia due to the attack on Ukraine. April 4 marks the anniversary of the founding of NATO. “Solidarity between allies and partners is crucial to end Russia’s inhumane war against the Ukrainian people. “The United States is calling on Montenegro to apply EU sanctions to help end Putin‘s ability to finance his war, which continues to cause indescribable death and suffering,” Raising Reinke said on Twitter.

Osmani blames unnamed “people and institutions” in Macedonia of working against his deal with Bulgaria, being in league with Russia (Republika) 

During a press briefing, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani alleged that unnamed people and institutions in Macedonia were making calls to Bulgaria to ask that no agreement is reached between the two countries. According to Osmani, the position was that Macedonia is facing early elections and any agreement the Kovacevski Government reaches would be worthless. Osmani also alleged that these “people” who “made calls” to Bulgaria were working for Russia. “These are people in institutions who are believed to be one the same line along what Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was mentioning”, Osmani said, refusing to give more specifics. Petkov alleged that two officials of the Bulgarian secret service were working for Russia, and were active in preventing a new deal between Macedonia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria makes hefty demands against Macedonia, and claims Macedonian history and national identity as its own. It blocks Macedonia from opening its EU accession talks, and there is now an on-going effort by the Petkov government to blame Russia for this policy.

Kovacevski says that steps were taken against officials who tried to obstruct his new deal with Bulgaria (Republika) 

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said that the government took steps with regard to the unnamed officials who allegedly were working against a new deal with Bulgaria. The allegation that people from institutions in Macedonia contacting officials in Bulgaria and suggesting that no deal should be signed because the Kovacevski government is going to fall soon, was raised by Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani. In apparent coordination with Sofia, he laid blame on Russia, for allegedly working against a new treaty between Macedonia and Bulgaria. With the Foreign Minister we had reports about what happened from day one, and all was submitted to the security services. I can’t reveal more details, as this is classified information. Prime Minister Petkov publicly revealed that there are people who worked against their interests and against our good-neighborly relations and the eventual reaching of a deal. Bulgaria is conducting an investigation and I have no reason to doubt the Prime Minister of Bulgaria. Regarding our officials, steps were taken but I can’t give more details, Kovacevski said.

Kim: We welcome parliament’s support for justice reform (Radio Tirana) 

US Ambassador Yuri Kim reacted after meeting with parliament speaker Lindita Nikolla this Monday. In a Twitter post, Kim wrote that parliament is an essential institution for democracy. The US diplomat writes that the US welcomes the support of the parliament for the justice reforms, which is a necessity for the EU integration. “Parliament is an essential institution of democracy. We appreciate the speaker Lindita Nikolla in enabling regular debate and discussion by MPs on behalf of citizens, demonstrating that no one is above the law and strengthening ties between and democratic institutions. We welcome Parliament’s support for justice and other reforms needed to unite; Opposition to Russia, unprovoked, unjustifiable war in Ukraine; and strong cooperation with the US to enhance democracy, defense, and business ties, especially when we celebrate 100 years together.”

Cuci pays an official visit to Athens (Radio Tirana) 

The Minister of Interior Bledi Cuci is paying an official visit to Greece. He met with the Minister for Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi. “I discussed various issues affecting Albanian emigrants living and working in Greece as the largest community of foreigners in the Hellenic state and with a great contribution to the local economy and an extraordinary role in bringing our two peoples closer,” said Cuci. Another topic of discussion was the migratory flows coming from countries in Africa or the Middle East. “As a gateway to the EU, Greece is the first to face these flows and has really borne a great weight, while Albania as a transit country does its part to crack down on these movements that mobilize organized crime. “The FRONTEX mission and the cooperation with the Greek side for the strengthening of the border control have given an extraordinary impact,” says Cuci. Following the meeting, he said that Albania also welcomes the high Greek expertise in the preparation of contingency plans and the implementation of EU programs for migrants. Cuci brought to the attention of the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Albania’s approach to granting temporary protection status according to the EU directive for Afghan citizens who left their country, but also for Ukrainians who are forced to leave due to the war.