LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: We will do our best for dialogue to continue (Tanjug)

 

Serbia will do its best for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue to continue and for peace and security in the region to be preserved, as well as to avoid giving headaches to big powers or its own people, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday. At a Belgrade Security Forum conference "Leadership for a Secure Region", where he discussed development of Serbia-NATO relations with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Vucic said Serbia would do the best it could to avoid past mistakes as well as to ensure a safe future for its people and a better economic environment.

 

Dacic: EU and West unfair toward Serbia (Beta/RTS)

 

The EU remains Serbia’s strategic goal, but the bloc and the West have an unfair attitude toward Belgrade, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said in Romania on Tuesday, Beta reported.

Addressing the gathering “Security Challenges in the Balkans,” Dacic said Serbia will not recognize Kosovo at any cost because the question is not – either EU or Kosovo. “Our strategic aim is to become an EU member state, but we cannot join unless we reach a legally binding agreement with Kosovo. But, has anyone in the EU knows what is in that agreement? Does it mean that Serbia will have to recognize Kosovo,” he asked. He added that Serbia wanted a peaceful solution, but not humiliation, adding it is cynical that countries which recognized Kosovo speak against border changes. “In the EU they say no to border changes, but what about Serbia’s borders? They erased them first, and now - no more changes. We don’t accept that, whether it comes from Brussels, Washington, Moscow. Catalonia cannot secede, Kosovo can. That is not fair,” Dacic said. He added that the international community should understand the Balkans better and that Belgrade has been trying to exercise a balanced foreign policy respecting Serbia’s strategic interests, adding Serbia could not impose sanctions on Russia, the country which is defending Serbia’s territorial integrity at the UN. “How can we understand that someone insists on the territorial integrity of Crimea and Ukraine, while recognizes Kosovo,” he asked.

 

Four arrested for attacking Albanians in Novi Sad (Tanjug/B92)

 

The police have identified the assailants who beat up two young men of Albanian ethnicity in Novi Sad, and arrested four suspects, Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic stated. Members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Novi Sad have shed light on the attack on the two Albanians who were beaten in Futoska Street, Stefanovic said. According to him, although the investigation so far - including interviews with the suspects, but also one of the victims - indicates that this was not an ethnically-motivated incident, the police will examine all the allegations in detail and come to the full truth.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

General elections in B&H: Unconfirmed ballots, ballots in absentia, votes collected by mobile teams and in diplomatic–consular offices, and votes via mail to be counted as of Wednesday (FTV)

 

FTV reports that first bags with ballots from abroad were transported from the warehouse of the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) to the Main Counting Center of the B&H CEC on Sunday evening. FTV reminds that in accordance with existing rules, unconfirmed ballots, absentee ballots, ballots of people who voted by mail, ballots of people who voted with the help of mobile teams and ballots of people who voted in diplomatic and consular representative offices will be counted at the Main Counting Center. Guest of FTV news was Director of the Main Counting Center of the B&H CEC Adi Agic. Asked when he expects counting of votes to begin at the Main Counting Center, Agic said that he expects this process to begin on Wednesday, adding that people working at the Main Counting Center will give their best to finish counting of votes as soon as possible. "It all depends on all recounts and all complaints and objections that we receive in the coming period," Agic said. FTV noted that four cameras were installed at the Main Counting Center of the B&H CEC.

 

B&H CEC publishes updated preliminary results of general elections in B&H: Dzaferovic, Dodik, Komsic new members of B&H Presidency (N1)

 

The B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) published updated, preliminary results of the general elections in B&H on Monday at 1800 hrs. According to the results based on 89.03 percent of ballots, SDA’s candidate Sefik Dzaferovic was elected the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency with 37.07 percent of votes. SDP B&H’s candidate Denis Becirovic is ranked the second as he won 33.56 percent of votes, followed by SBB B&H’s candidate Fahrudin Radoncic who won 12.38 percent of votes. Independent candidate Mirsad Hadzikadic won 9.63 percent of votes, Independent Bloc’s candidate Senad Sepic won 5.25 percent of votes, while SB&H’s candidate Amer Jerlagic won 1.65 percent of votes. DF’s candidate Zeljko Komsic still leads in the race for the Croat member of the B&H Presidency with 52.43 percent of votes, while HDZ B&H’s candidate Dragan Covic won 36.09 percent of votes, followed by HDZ 1990’s candidate Diana Zelenika who won 6.31 percent of votes. Our Party’s candidate Borisa Falatar won 3.66 percent of votes, while NSRzB’s candidate Jerko Ivankovic Lijanovic won 1.51 percent of votes. SNSD-DNS-SP RS’ candidate Milorad Dodik took the lead in the race for the Serb member of the B&H Presidency with 53.78 percent of votes, followed by the Alliance for Victory’s (SzP) Mladen Ivanic who won 43.04 percent of votes. SNS RS’ candidate Mirjana Popovic won 1.67 percent of votes, while Prva SDS’ candidate Gojko Klickovic won 1.51 percent of votes. According to the aforementioned results, Dzaferovic, Komsic and Dodik are most likely to be elected the members of the B&H Presidency for the next four years. Dzaferovic won the biggest number of votes in central Bosnia, Komsic in the Sarajevo Canton and Krajina and Dodik in the RS.

 

Updated preliminary results: Cvijanovic to be new RS President (Hayat)

 

B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) published preliminary, incomplete results for the post of the RS President, Vice-Presidents and the RS parliament. According to more than 87% of processed polling stations, SNSD’s candidate for the RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic won over 265,000 votes i.e. 47.50% which is nearly 26,000 more than SDS’ candidate Vukota Govedarica. According to Hayat, Cvijanovic is known for being close associate to SNSD leader Milorad Dodik and she has been at a high-ranking position in the RS authorities for years. Cvijanovic served as Dodik’s Advisor for European integration during his mandate as the RS Prime Minister in the period 2006-2010. Cvijanovic was then appointed RS Minister of Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation, and then the RS Prime Minister. SDA’s candidate Ramiz Salkic will most likely remain at the position of the RS Vice-President from the rank of Bosniak people as he has so far won over 15,000 votes, which represents the most votes out of all candidates for this position. Salkic entered the RS authorities in 2013, as delegate in the RS Council of Peoples (CoP). Josip Jerkovic won 1,848 votes and will most likely be the RS Vice-President from rank of Croat people.

 

Updated preliminary results for B&H parliament: SDA wins most votes in FB&H, SNSD wins most votes in RS (Hayat/TV1/RTRS)

 

B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) published preliminary, incomplete results of the general elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H. Based on a little less than 72% of counted votes, ten parties from the FB&H passed the election threshold. According to the results for voting in the FB&H, SDA won 164,437 votes by which it could obtain nine mandates in B&H HoR. SDA is followed by the coalition gathered around HDZ B&H with 109,897 votes and it could obtain five mandates. The remaining results show that SDP B&H won 93,207 votes, DF 59,804, SBB B&H 41,388, PDA 28,564, ‘Nasa Stranka’ (‘Our Party’) 26,083, A-SDA 23,890, HDZ 1990-HSP B&H 21,648 and ‘Nezavisni Blok’ (‘Independent Bloc’) 21,370. In this regard, SDP B&H could obtain four mandates, DF two mandates, SBB B&H also two mandates, while one mandate is expected to be given to PDA, ‘Nasa Stranka’, HDZ 1990-HSP B&H, and ‘Nezavisni Blok’ each. When it comes to the preliminary results for B&H HoR referring to votes from the RS, SNSD won 212,791 votes, SDS 135,973, PDP 69,359, DNS 56,483, SP RS 25,014 and SDA 19,993. This means that, judging by the abovementioned results, SNSD could win six mandates in B&H HoR, SDS three, PDP two, and DNS, SP RS and SDA from the RS could each obtain one mandate. SDA won most of the votes in the FB&H in the race for members of the B&H parliament. The party’s candidates Sefik Dzaferovic and Denis Zvizdic won most of the votes. HDZ B&H is following SDA and the party’s candidates Barisa Colak and Predrag Kozul won most of the votes. SDP B&H won 14.17 percent of votes, and the party’s candidate Enver Bijedic registered the highest number of votes. When it comes to the parties from the RS, SNSD won 39.31 percent of votes and candidates of SNSD Nebojsa Radmanovic and Stasa Kosarac won the highest number of votes. The Alliance for the Victory (SzP) won 25.12 percent of votes, thanks to members of the party Obren Petrovic and Dragan Mektic. According to incomplete preliminary data of the B&H CEC which refer to the B&H parliament, SNSD took the lead in the race for 14 seats that belong to the RS, while SDA is the leading party in the race for 28 seats that belong to the FB&H. Member of the B&H CEC Suad Arnautovic explained that nine out of 14 seats are won directly in three constituencies in the RS, while the rest of five seats refer to compensatory mandates from the entire territory of the RS. As for the FB&H, 21 out of 28 seats are won directly in five constituencies, while the rest of seven seats refer to compensatory mandates from the entire territory of the FB&H, Arnautovic explained.

 

Updated preliminary results for FB&H HoR: SDA wins highest number of votes (N1)

 

According to the results based on 77.87 percent of ballots, SDA won 25.45 percent of votes for the FB&H parliament, followed by HDZ B&H with 15 percent, SDP B&H with 14.57 percent, DF-GS 8.94 percent, SBB B&H 6.71 percent, Our Party 4.52 percent, PDA 4.2 percent, Independent Bloc 3.29 percent, A-SDA 3.04 percent and other parties – 14.28 percent. B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) published preliminary, incomplete results of the general elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) of the FB&H. Based on 69.26% of processed polling stations, eight parties might enter the FB&H HoR. Namely, SDA won the largest number of votes i.e. 164,473 or 25.26%, followed by the coalition led by HDZ B&H with 106,607 votes i.e. 16.44%. SDP B&H won 14,42%, DF-GS coalition 8.6%, SBB B&H 6.48%, PDA 4.26%, ‘Nasa Stranka’ 4.10%, and A-SDA 3.21%. According to these results, SDA could win 29 mandates in the FB&H HoR including compensatory mandates, coalition led by HDZ B&H 20 mandates, SDP B&H 17, DF-GS coalition 10, SBB B&H seven, PDA six, ‘Nasa Stranka’ five, and A-SDA four.

 

SNSD wins highest number of votes for seats in RS parliament (ATV)

 

The Central Election Commission of B&H held a press conference in Sarajevo on Monday and published new election results. According to the results, SNSD won most votes for the RS parliament and the B&H House of Representatives (B&H HoR). Based on data processed in 83 percent of the polling stations, SNSD won 28 mandates in the RS parliament, SDS won 16, DNS 13, PDP 9, SP B&H 7, NDP 4, while ‘Zajedno za B&H’ and ‘Ujedinjena Srpska’ won three mandates each. In comparison with 2014, SNSD will have one representative less in the RS parliament, while SDS will have eight representatives less. The biggest success was recorded by DNS, as they won five more mandates in the RS parliament, in comparison to 2014. The biggest surprise was the election success of SP Ba7H, as they won seven mandates. When it comes to compensation mandates, SNSD will probably get four, as will PDP, while SDS and NDP will get three each, followed by DNS and ‘Ujedinjena Srpska’ with two each, and SP Ba7H with only one mandate.

 

SDA, HDZ B&H win highest number of votes in Cantonal Assemblies (TV1)

 

According to preliminary results of the general elections in B&H, SDA won the highest number of votes in Cantons where Bosniaks represent majority. At the same time, HDZ B&H registered the highest number of votes in Cantons with the majority of Croats. TV1 reported that SDP B&H registered increase of votes at all levels of power, while popularity of SBB B&H dropped. According to TV1, parties whose members left SDA and formed new ones ‘Narod i Pravda’ (People and Justice) and PDA surprised with votes that they won in the elections. SDA leads in six Cantons in the FB&H, while HDZ B&H-led coalition leads in the rest of the four Cantons. SDA won the highest number of votes in the Una- Sana Canton, followed by A-SDA and SDP B&H, while HDZ B&H-led coalition won the highest number of votes in the Posavina Canton. SDA won the highest number of votes in Tuzla Canton and the party is followed by SDP B&H and PDA. When it comes to the Zenica-Doboj Canton, SDA won the highest number of votes, followed by SDP B&H and HDZ B&H. SDA also registered the highest number of votes in the Bosna-Podrinje Canton (Gorazde), followed by Independent B&H List (NBL) and LS B&H. SDA also leads in the Central Bosnia Canton, followed by HDZ B&H and SDP B&H, while HDZ B&H leads in the Herzegovina Neretva Canton, followed by SDA and SDP B&H. HDZ B&H also won the highest number of votes in the West Herzegovina Canton. When it comes to the Sarajevo Canton, SDA won the highest number of votes, followed by ‘Narod i Pravda’ and ‘Nasa Stranka’ (Our Party). As for the Canton 10 (Livno Canton), HDZ B&H-led coalition won the highest number of votes, followed by the Serb List and HDZ B&H 1990.

 

Government passes motion initiating constitutional changes (MIA)

 

The government held Monday an extraordinary session to review a motion initiating a change in the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia. After adopting the text, the government concluded to send the document to the Macedonian parliament for consideration before reaching a decision on launching a procedure to amend the Constitution. The government proposes inclusion of the adjective North in the name Republic of Macedonia throughout the text of the Constitution before the word Macedonia. Changes to the Constitution's preamble are also proposed so as to align it with the Prespa Agreement and to change two articles, said Mile Bosnjakovski. The preamble, in the section for statehood and legal traditions, will contain concrete documents adopted at the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM), the government spokesman told a news conference. The government, he added, also proposes changes enhancing 'border guarantee' in Article 3 of the Constitution, which was already amended in 1992. "The new proposal will champion observance of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of the neighboring countries, thus strengthening the guarantee for the existing borders and declaring that Macedonia has no territorial ambitions. It means protection of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia and of the neighboring states," elaborated Bosnjakovski. The government also proposes a change to Article 49 of the Constitution about Macedonian expatriates and the diaspora abroad. It was also amended in 1992. "Under the constitutional amendment, the Republic of Macedonia cares for the cultural, economic and social rights of representatives of the Macedonian nation and all of our citizens residing abroad without implying interference into the sovereign rights of other countries and in their internal affairs in any form and for any reason," the spokesman said. Now it is up to the members of parliament, regardless of their party affiliation, to voice their opinion about the government's proposal. "They have a historic duty and obligation before the citizens to pave Macedonia's way toward stability, security and economic prosperity. It is the way to the EU and NATO paved by the Agreement between Macedonia and Greece. The MPs are expected to decide to this end and as an expression of respect of the will of the citizens voting in the referendum, and also the will of almost 80% of citizens that approve Macedonia becoming a member of the EU and NATO," noted Bosnjakovski. The MPs, he added, should make a decision that will make Macedonia a better place to live in. Asked whether the proposal initiating constitutional changes suggested that a 2/3 majority had been secured in Parliament, Bosnjakovski said that the government today was launching the process and expected the lawmakers to follow the will of the people in the Sept. 30 referendum.

 

Motion for constitutional revision in parliament, two-third majority still uncertain (MIA)

 

The government has initiated a procedure over the motion for constitutional revision, which has already reached the parliament. Despite the launch of the procedure, the two-third majority required in the parliament for their endorsement is still uncertain, with early elections being the other option. Macedonian, EU and NATO officials have said that early elections are not the way out of the situation that resulted from the 37-percent turnout at the referendum, after which opposition MPs said they would not support changes to the Constitution. Snap elections would delay further the reform process, affect the budget, but also bring into question the entire election procedure, taking into consideration the expedited deadlines. The parliament's next plenary session is scheduled for Monday. Ruling parties have said there are talks with opposition MPs, providing no further details, while VMRO-DPMNE has rejected these claims saying their deputies will not support a constitutional revision leading to a name change. In an interview with Euronews Greece, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Macedonia doesn't need to hold elections – unless absolutely necessary. He insisted the country would hold elections only after all options to reach a two-thirds majority in parliament had been exhausted. He then called on all MPs to do their duty towards the country. "Macedonia doesn't need elections," Zaev said. "Macedonia is on the right track. We'll open a chapter in June. We'll have a place at the negotiating table in Brussels and NATO while its 29 member states begin ratifying the protocol in their Parliaments. From an economic standpoint, Macedonia is doing great, and there's no need for us to hold elections – unless absolutely necessary. And, of course, if we do, the obvious goal is to achieve two thirds, or 80 MPs," said PM Zaev. VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said in an open letter to Zaev that the attempt to blackmail MPs for the purpose of supporting the constitutional amendments is futile. "There is no other country in the world where a PM says openly he will not respect the will of the majority," added Mickoski. The parliament should decide whether to follow the people's will, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told a debate. "The referendum turnout was close to 37 percent, and although the Electoral Code stipulates a higher turnout, there were 609,000 citizens who said 'Yes'. This is the majority and they want Macedonia to move forward. Discussions in Parliament are to come. We are faced with a historic decision. Our reality is that we cannot circumvent the name dispute on the road to NATO and EU. It is up to the Parliament to decide whether to follow the people's will. This is the key. We need to use this key if we want to move forward," FM Dimitrov told debate Bilateral in the Balkans: Regional Implications of Bilateral Disputes” within Civil Society Forum Skopje 2018. Dimitrov noted that early elections were the last resort, if all others failed. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there is no Plan B for Macedonia, because the country has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of joining NATO if it implements the Prespa Agreement. "I firmly believe that the country must take decisions over its future. It is up to the government and the parliament to take these decisions. To decide how to move forward, how to react to the referendum and the political implications it has produced," said Stoltenberg during a visit to Serbia. The NATO chief said the Alliance is prepared to swiftly accept Macedonia as its 30. member if democratic institutions in Skopje decide to fully implement the Prespa Agreement.

 

Kukan: Snap poll to create ‘mess’ in Macedonia (MIA)

 

Members of the European Parliament shared opinions Monday on developments in Macedonia following the referendum on the name agreement, MIA reports from Brussels. The EP Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) should vote on the report on the 2018 European Commission Report on Macedonia, as well as a vocal amendment presented by EP's rapporteur for Macedonia Ivo Vajgl. The amendment refers to the referendum outcome and notifies the need of additional support for the country’s Euro-Atlantic future and the ratification of the Prespa (name) Agreement. MEPs, it reads, will encourage the government to take all necessary measures for complying with the provisions of the agreement. In this respect, the MEPs notified that it was not clear yet whether the parliament would ensure the necessary two-third majority for adoption of the constitutional amendments or snap election were to be called in Macedonia.

Eduard Kukan, member of the European People's Party Group, said the content of the EP report could be adjusted to possible changes of the situation in Macedonia before being adopted at the EP plenary session in November. My only remark is that possible snap elections will create mess in the country for a long period, MEP Kukan said at today’s debate on Macedonia. Kukan commended the work of rapporteur Vajgl and voiced readiness to support the EP report on Macedonia. The situation in Macedonia is better in comparison to previous years, Vajgl said, pointing out that the Prespa Agreement has restored the optimism in regard to the country’s EU prospect. ‘Now I ask for your support of my vocal amendment while we are waiting for the next steps announced by the Macedonian government,’ Vajgl told MEPs. The point is, he added, to keep supporting the country’s progress towards the EU, NATO membership if it expressed such wish, Vajgl said. MEP Knut Fleckenstein expressed hope that the Prespa Agreement would not become a collateral damage of a possible political crisis in Macedonia. Without the name agreement with Greece, Macedonia’s EU accession would turn into an ‘academic exercise,’ MEP Charles Tannock said. A disagreement aroused between Sofia Sakorafa, independent MEP for Greece, and Fleckenstein. Sakorafa called on Fleckenstein to not support the Prespa Agreement she labeled as ‘imposed.’ Greek MEP Stelios Kouloglou welcomed the Prespa Agreement and commended the courage of the prime ministers. This agreement puts an end to the ridiculous name dispute, brings stability to problem-burdened Balkan region, Kouloglou said.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Macedonia Referendum Fiasco Causes Dilemma for Serbia (BIRN, by Maja Zivanovic, 9 October 2018)

 

After Macedonia's ‘name referendum’ failed due to an apparent big mismatch between registered and actual voters, other Balkan countries are pondering the wisdom of having such referendum thresholds.

The “50-per-cent-plus-one” referendum threshold, which exists in most former communist countries, could be “a rope around the neck” for any potential referendum in Serbia on its relations with Kosovo, or for other referendums in the region, experts warn. After the Macedonian referendum on September 30, which failed due to the low turnout, there are fears that the same scenario could happen elsewhere. Some countries in the region still stick with a 50-per-cent turnout threshold, to ensure changes have proper nationwide support, but while this may solve that problem, such thresholds create political problems. “Imagine me calling the people to a referendum and 25 or 35 per cent of them turn out and I say ‘We won’ ... This is an impossible situation for me. There is democracy and there are a constitution and laws to be respected, even when someone doesn’t like the decision of the people,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on October 1 in his reaction to the Macedonian result. But even Vucic is aware that in the case of a future referendum in Serbia, he could face same problems as the Macedonian government, when a low turnout rendered the results invalid. It has thrown into doubt a historic deal with Athens to end almost three decades of disagreement that has frustrated Macedonia’s EU and NATO integration. Serbia, like other Balkan countries, is suffering from population decline caused by negative demographic trends and the departure of people towards EU. These trends are reflected in official data. This year, the number of Serbian residents, according to the state Statistic Office in September, will drop below 7 million for the first time in years. Between the last two censuses, from 2002 to 2011, Serbia lost 377,335 people, which is more than the population of Serbia's second largest city, Novi Sad.

 

Thresholds no longer reflect demographic facts: 

Bojan Klacar, from the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy, CeSid, recalled that many former communist countries introduced thresholds for a minimum turnout in referendums. “In Serbia, as in most other post-communist countries, some sort of minimal quorum makes sense in principle, because a referendum is often a means of a political instrument by the government. “What is questionable in Serbia is that this quorum is calculated from the number of registered voters, which is legally correct, but does not in practice reflect the real situation, due to migratory trends,” he told BIRN.  As Klacar explained, in practice, 50 per cent ov voters means more than 60 per cent of truly available voters, because some estimates are that there are no more than 5.5 million voters left in Serbia. Official data from April 2017, when the last elections were held, show that 6,724,949 citizens had the right to vote in the Serbian elections. Serbia’s law on referendums says a referendum is valid if the majority of citizens who have voting rights and are on the electoral register voted in it. The topic might be less relevant had the President not said “We will have to have referendum”, when commenting on the Serbia-Kosovo dispute on August 23. “I will propose what I can and we will have to go to a referendum, and let the people have their say,” Vucic said in the northern town of Zrenjanin. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Serbia has said it will not recognize. The international community is putting more pressure on both countries to resolve the dispute to secure their EU integration.

Klacar said it may be relevant to open a debate about how the 50 per cent are counted, as some countries count this percentage in terms of the number of voters who took part in the last parliamentary elections. Serbia's history of voting shows that the turnout was usually over 50 per cent of registered voters – but this was with aggressive media and campaigning, during which parties pressured their supporters heavily to vote. However, three rounds of presidential elections in Serbia have failed due to low turnouts. In a potential Serbia-Kosovo referendum, the stakes would be different for both sides, as the pressure this time would be coming from the EU and West.

 

What happened in Macedonia?

A similar scenario happened in Macedonia, where the last census was conducted in 2002. There are 1.8 million of people on the electoral roll, based on the last census. Interior Ministry data say Macedonia has over 2.4 million registered citizens. But this figure includes people who now live aboard – and exactly how many people now live abroad is a subject of frequent speculation.

The most pessimistic estimate is that only 1.7 million people remain resident in Macedonia following two decades of extensive migration.  A Professor of Constitutional Law at the Law Faculty of the Belgrade-based Union University, Bogoljub Milosavljevic, says the 50-per-cent-plus-one voting bar is set too high for most referendums to be successful. “This practice is being largely abandoned due to poor turnout,” he told BIRN, and added that this decision was the right move for many countries. “Usually, the majority of voters is counted based on the number of those who have voted,” he added. Had this practice been implemented in the Macedonia referendum, success would have followed, as more than 90 per cent of voters backed the name deal, after which Macedonia would become the “Republic of North Macedonia” and soon after, a member of the EU and NATO. For Montenegro’s 2006 independence referendum, the threshold was set at 55 per cent, which was a precedent in Europe. But this was demanded by the EU and Western powers to avoid possible problems with the large Serbian community in the country, which wanted to remain in union with Serbia. The 50-per-cent threshold is also a condition in some other countries in the region. The same condition was set for the 2016 “Statehood Day” referendum in Republika Srpska in Bosnia. But in Croatia, this standard was abandoned in 2010, ahead of the referendum on membership in the EU. Amid fears that the EU referendum could fail due to a low turnout, Croatia’s parliament voted to amend the threshold. Professor Milosavljevic recalled the controversial referendum Serbia held in 2006, when it changed its constitution.

The two-day referendum on October 28 and 29 2006 was marred by numerous irregularities, such as voters lacking ID, in order to reach the threshold. Milosavljevic also pointed out another issue, the difference between Serbia's constitution and its law on referendums. “That’s another issue – because Serbia’s constitution doesn’t have a 50-per-cent-plus-one demand, while the Law on Referendums does,” he noted. Unlike the Law on Referendum, the constitution says that it may be changed by the “majority of those who voted in a referendum”. Experts say that if Serbia and Kosovo reach a deal, Serbia would have to change its constitution, which still defines Kosovo as part of Serbia. In this case, the President might use the legislation prescribed by the constitution in which “50 per cent plus one vote” is not a condition, and ignore the Law on Referendums.  BIRN asked the Serbian Electoral Commission if had updated the process of voting lists but received no answer by the time of publication.