LOCAL PRESS

 

RIK releases preliminary results for parliament (N1/Beta/Tanjug/RTS/FoNet)

 

The Republic Election Commission (RIK) session, whose holding the Serbia Against Violence coalition representatives tried prevent, began just after 9 pm Monday. RIK said that the preliminary results are based on 96.85 percent of the vote counted. N1 reporter said that some 15 RIK members probably used the back door to enter the RIK building, because citizens, supporters and representatives of the Serbia Against Violence coalition were assembled outside the RIK main entrance. Having established that there is a quorum, RIK President Vladimir Dimitrijevic read out the preliminary election results. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 1,721,572 votes, or 46.71 percent. The ticket headed by Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica Dacic won 6.57 percent, Vojislav Seselj’s Serbian Radical Party (SRS) 1.47 percent and the National Gathering 2.78 percent. Milos Jovanovic’s NADA coalition won 5.03 percent, Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians 1.7 percent, and the Serbia Against Violence ticket won 23.58 percent. Usame Zukorlic won 0.77 percent of the ballots, Sulejman Ugljanin’s Party of Democratic Action (SDA) 0.59 percent, the Together for the Future and Development Coalition 0.18 percent, the People’s Party 0.88 percent, and the Enough is Enough (DJB) – Social Democratic Party (SDS) – Kidnapped Babies coalition won 1.18 percent. The South Serbia minority Albanian ticket headed by Saip Kamberi won 0.37 percent, and Dr Branislav Nestorovic’s movement We The Voice of the People won 4.69 percent. Serbia in the West got 0.14 percent, the Russian Party 0.3 percent, while Cedomir Jovanovic’s ticket won 0.24 percent of votes. At its session held Monday evening, RIK rejects all complaints submitted to it contesting parliamentary elections held on 17 December, FoNet reported.

 

Belgrade: Per results from 92.54 polling stations, SNS gets 49 Seats, Serbia Against Violence 42 (Beoinfo/Beta)

 

According to the City Electoral Commission's preliminary results, based on the processing of 92.54 polling stations, the coalition around the Serbian Progressive Party won 49 seats in the City of Belgrade Assembly, while the Serbia against Violence ticket won 42, Beoinfo reported. The Socialist Party of Serbia and coalition partners would get six seats, as would the We, Voice of the People ticket, while the NADA alliance, made up of the New Democratic Party of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbia Renewal Movement would have seven, the city administration website said further. According to the preliminary results, no other parties or coalitions crossed the threshold. The Belgrade City Assembly has 110 councilors.

 

Head of RIK: Protest turned into violence; They deliberately interfere with our work (B92)

 

Republic Election Commission (RIK) held an extraordinary press conference regarding the incidents during the protest by supporters of "Serbia Against Violence" list. RIK President Vladimir Dimitrijevic said that today at 7 p.m., Marinika Tepic and Miroslav Aleksic came to the building with a request to talk. "On that occasion, they handed me a request to hold new elections for the Belgrade City Assembly. They accused the RIK of election fraud, claiming that we represent the interests of Aleksandar Vucic," said Dimitrijevic. As Dimitrijevic says, they pointed to alleged irregularities during the elections in Belgrade. "In response to the accusations, I said that it is inappropriate to claim that one body works for any election participant, since we have both government representatives and opposition representatives in our composition," he said. The President of the RIK says that this is an example of unacceptable and inappropriate pressure. "Which consciously or out of ignorance ignores the fact that the RIK is not the body for conducting city elections, but it is the CEC. We are not a second-level body, as they claim, in relation to the CEC. This is in accordance with the law of the High Court in Belgrade," Dimitrijevic said. He adds that REC can neither call nor organize new elections. "Gathering in front of the RIK is deliberately hindering our work. I also inform the public that the protests in front of the RIK turned into violence that has not been recorded so far when it comes to the work of the RIK," said the President of the RIK. He says that dissatisfaction with the work of the RIK has never led to such scenes, and that he is particularly shocked by the scenes in front of the building. All the aggressive rhetoric of the past few days obviously had to culminate in this kind of violence. Tonight, the director of RBS Miladin Kovacevic was also attacked," he said. Dimitrijević points out that he will insist that the violence be punished, and then showed the confiscated knives and clubs that were taken from the demonstrators. "You can see it on the table here - tonight there was even an attempt to bring knives, then bats, sticks, similar props into the RIK headquarters, with which violence was tried to be brought in from the outside," said Dimitrijevic. "I have to protect the integrity of the election process, but during all this time I never thought that I would have the opportunity to take care of the physical safety of REC members and officials. I hope that after the unpleasant scenes, everyone who wants to influence will come to their senses on the electoral process, and that these heated passions will calm down and return to the domain of legal and legitimate political struggle," he says. The President of RIK wished Marinika Tepic and Miroslav Aleksic not to put their own health at risk, as well as to take care of the health and safety of the people they endangered with their irresponsible actions.

 

Kovacevic: It was a lynching and jumping on a man ​

Miladin Kovacevic says that he left the committee session around 10 p.m., as he had obligations in the morning, and left the RIK building. "Hopefully what happened will not happen. I know what it means when people gather and demonstrate, and I assumed it might seem violent, but I believed I would be able to get through," he said. Kovacevic adds that he is not young, and that when he went through the door with his colleagues, he heard a stampede and that a crowd of people fell on his head. "They hit and pushed me, and they knocked me down on the sidewalk. I fell on my back, I have pain in the spine. I will have to go on medical checkup, but somehow, thanks to my colleagues, I managed to get back to the building," he said. The director of Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia RBS says that everything was unarticulated, and that this time there was no self-control. "It was a lynching and jumping on a man. That ferocity and that outpouring of hatred and anger was unknown to me until now. I remember in 2016 when the opposition wanted to delegitimize the elections, so I was in their way. I manage an institution that it has a European and even global reputation," he says. Kovacevic adds that he also enjoys a world-wide reputation, and that he is not just an official, but a professional, a scientist and a member of the RIK without the right to vote. "I've been a scientist since the early 1980s. I'm telling you, we participate in bilateral cooperation with organizations and institutions around the world," he pointed out.

 

Vucic: If Nestorovic won’t vote for anyone, you will go to repeated elections (RTS)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the elections are a result of the campaign, of the past performance and of all that has been offered to the people, and noted that the citizens of RS entity have the right to vote in Belgrade on the basis of the dual citizenship laws adopted “when those now criticizing this were in power”. Responding to the criticism that Republika Srpska citizens cast their ballots the Belgrade local elections, Vucic told RTS that they are entitled to this right. They have this right based on the laws passed in this country by those who were in power before us, and now they are running a witch hunt against our people because I guess they don’t like these people’s political orientation, even though we are talking about a minor number of votes, said Vucic. Seriousness and responsibility in one’s work is what it takes to gain the people’s trust, the President added. Vucic said his ticket scored victory in Belgrade, and that the results are always thrown into question by those who lose. “I said 15 days ago that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is in the lead in Belgrade, because some pursued the wrong policy and campaign strategy. They were ahead (of the SNS) by five percent five months ago, we did surveys on a daily basis and saw that this changed, we won, as for who will form the government, that we don’t know,” said Vucic. Vucic states that the citizens of Serbia have shown in the past elections that they want security and, as he says, they will have it. In 98 percent of the places that we counted, the coalition Serbia must not stop received the largest number of votes, said Vucic. The president says that, despite the crises, they managed to develop the country and changed the face of Serbia. “Thank you to the citizens for their support. People will be able to see, now that the campaign is over, what we are really doing and that we are uplifting Serbia,” said Vucic. He repeated that an increase in salaries is expected from January, that there will be a lot of trouble with the Kosovo and Metohija, but that people know that. “We will fight and protect our interests. We will not allow Kosovo access to the UN,” said Vucic. When it comes to the opposition’s request to annul the elections in Belgrade, Vucic says that if the holder of the list Branimir Nestorovic – We – Voice of the People” does not support anyone, we will have repeated elections in Belgrade. “If Mr. Nestorovic won’t vote for anyone, and 56 votes are needed, you will go to repeated elections, I’m just afraid that some will misjudge what the results of those elections would be,” said Vucic. It indicates that the representatives of the Serbia Against Violence list ran a bad campaign, and that five months ago they had an advantage of 5.5 percent, but that has changed. “I am proud that the Serbia must not stop list won convincingly in Belgrade. I really don’t know who will form the government,” added Vucic. He stated that the Serbia must not stop list together with the SPS list has 54 mandates in Belgrade. He also said that he believes that in the end Aleksandar Sapic will be the mayor of Belgrade. Speaking about whether there are still two names in the game for the new Prime Minister, Vucic says that this is what was in his head. “But I, as the President of the Republic, have to listen to the parliamentary majority and have them tell me. Therefore, the people from the SNS, from the coalition Serbia must not stop, who obviously have an absolute majority, and they have 128 MPs alone without minority parties, who will have, as far as I think, 10, 11 or maybe even 12 mandates in the parliament. Plus, whether they want to go with the SPS or not, whether they want to go to power with some other partner or not, or some third partner. That’s already for them, I could talk about my own opinion, but it’s not the time for that,” said Vucic.

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International observers say elections marred by irregularities (N1/Beta)

 

The 17 December early elections in Serbia were dominated by the decisive involvement of the President which, together with the ruling party’s systemic advantages, created unjust conditions, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election observation mission told a media conference on Monday. The election campaign was marred by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources, said the ODIHR mission. The media oversight bodies were inefficient during the election campaign period and the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) maintained a notably “passive” approach to regulating media conduct during the campaign, it said. The mission noted that, while the elections were technically well-organized, they unfolded in the midst of a socially and politically divided landscape. “Serbian voters have once again been called to the polls, regretfully reinforcing the ‘culture of early elections’, the unlevel playing field these create, and the political instrumentalization of electoral cycles,” said Stefan Schennach, Head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Delegation, adding that this further undermines public trust in democratic institutions and electoral processes. Another cause for concern is the role of the Serbian President, who dominated the campaign despite the fact that he was not a candidate in the elections, which gave his party an unjustified advantage, the mission told the media conference. It noted that the campaign across most of the country was dominated by the prominent visibility of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and positive coverage of the President dominated the media. The mission said this seriously undermines fair electoral conditions because the president is supposed to be a neutral figure and advocate national unity. Commenting on the unjust conditions and alleged vote manipulation, the ODIHR mission representatives said these are very serious issues that the Serbian institutions need to address. Frequent instances of group voting, some incidents of undue influence on voters, unauthorized tracking of voter turnout, and photographing of ballots were also observed. We saw serious irregularities, such as vote buying, and ballot box stuffing, said the mission. Head of the European Parliament (EP) Delegation Klemen Groselj said the low level of political debate, pressure on the voters and personal discrediting of opponents are some of the worrying elements that the observers recorded. We are concerned about the language and the attacks against journalists and members of the civil society, said Groselj. Asked if the recorded violations are reason enough for the election results to be annulled, ODIHR Head of Mission Albert Jonsson said the observers are not in a position to comment on the effects. We have some recommendations, they are very important, and we will stay in touch with the Serbian authorities after the end of mission, he said. Asked to comment on the organized bussing of voters from Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Jonsson said the mission is informed about that, although its mandate was to observe the parliamentary elections. We said in our preliminary report that voters were brought over from other countries to vote in the local elections in Belgrade, and we made a note of this, he said. The international election observation mission to the early parliamentary elections in Serbia totalled 361 observers from 45 countries, made up of 254 ODIHR-deployed experts, and long-term and short-term observers, which comprised 71 from the OSCE PA, 23 from PACE, and 13 from the EP.

 

EC expresses concern over Serbia elections (N1)

 

The European Commission (EC) expressed concern on Tuesday over the election process in Serbia which requires reform. “We take note of the preliminary findings and conclusions of the international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), on Serbia’s 17 December early parliamentary elections. In light of these preliminary findings and conclusions, we conclude with concern that the electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform, as the proper functioning of Serbia’s democratic institutions is at the core of Serbia’s EU accession process,” spokeswoman Ana Pisonero told a news briefing quoting a press release. “The EU looks forward to the final OSCE/ODIHR report and recommendations for future elections, which should be implemented as soon as possible and well in advance of the next elections,” the press release said. “We also expect that credible allegations reports of irregularities are followed up in a transparent manner by the competent national authorities. This includes also allegations related to the local elections in Belgrade and other municipalities,” it added. The EC called the Serbian political leadership to ensure a constructive, inclusive dialogue across the political spectrum.

 

Bilcik: No major irregularities noted (Insajder)

 

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik MEP told the Insajder portal that the EP observer delegation did not register any major irregularities at last Sunday’s elections.

He said that the observer delegation noted that the elections were well organized with some irregularities in terms of registration of additional voters but not in any great numbers and possible vote buying in and around polling stations. He said that on the whole the elections went smoothly. He said the observers did not note any systemic irregularities on election day.

Bilcik said the good thing is that Serbia will not have a more representative pluralist parliament. He recalled the statement by international observers which said that the conditions in the campaign were not equal with the ruling party holding a dominant position. Bilcik expressed the hope that Serbia will now be free of early elections because constant elections leave no room for political decisions which are crucial in the country’s movement towards the EU.

 

Serbia Against Violence coalition holds protest rally in Belgrade (Beta/FoNet/N1)

 

Belgraders assembled on Monday evening in downtown Belgrade at a protest called by the Serbia Against Violence coalition. Following speeches delivered outside the Belgrade City Assembly building, the protesters marched to the Republic Election Commission (RIK) to present proof of electoral irregularities in Belgrade. Miroslav Aleksic and Marinika Tepic of the Serbia Against Violence coalition said they are going on a hunger strike until the Belgrade local elections are annulled. “We do not want to and must not recognize the Belgrade elections because, in violation of the law, they were abused by people from other countries,” said Tepic, stressing that the Serbia Against Violence coalition has ample evidence. Aleksic, one of the people heading the coalition’s election ticket, asked the assembled people “not to allow the holding of the RIK session” scheduled for 9 pm Monday. Protesters managed to break through the protective fence put up outside the RIK building, and a minor incident between the protesters and the security guards was reported. Aleksic said he and Tepic went inside the RIK building and submitted their demands for the annulment of the Belgrade elections. “We submitted all our objections, evidence, recordings and everything that the RIK needs to see, the conditions in which the elections were held yesterday and the brutal electoral fraud at the polling stations, how people were brought in to vote. The RIK head could not answer any of our questions, including that of how it is possible for a minister from Bosnia and Herzegovina to vote in Belgrade, under what law. They were silent, they looked at one another, took all the materials, said it was not within their jurisdiction, but they entered everything and will forward our demands,” said Aleksic. He added that, as MPs, they will stay inside the RIK building until the elections are annulled or until they receive the information that they will be annulled. “We are staying in the RIK building,” Tepic told N1, adding they believe that a hunger strike is the only way to make a sacrifice and defend the will of the people which was altered by electoral fraud. “You have the ODIHR and CRTA reports that point to this,” she said. Dragan Djilas, leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice, which is a member of the Serbia Against Violence coalition, said Tepic and Aleksic’s decision to start a hunger strike “is very difficult and a sacrifice.” He said many people assembled outside the RIK because “they don’t accept what happened yesterday.” “First of all in Belgrade, though the situation was the same across Serbia. The only difference being that, in Belgrade, voters were brought over from Republika Srpska, but also from central Serbia. We said that, everyone could see the ballots, according to CRTA reports, they directly influenced the altering of the Belgraders’ electoral will,” said Djilas, adding that all of this has been documented. “You recorded all those events at the Belgrade Arena yesterday, you saw that the Bosnia and Herzegovina Internal Affairs Minister voted in local elections in Belgrade, how is he a minister if he resides in a different country? Unfortunately, there were dozens of thousands of such people in Belgrade alone,” said Djilas.

 

Milivojevic: Nestorovic is the most desirable coalition partner, perhaps Belgrade’s next mayor (Beta)

 

Political analyst Cvijetin Milivojevic said yesterday that the election success of Branimir Nestorovic’s ticket “We – The Voice of the People”, which won around five percent of voter support, happened because the party had collected the votes of the right-wing opposition, but also because it hadn’t been “excessively criticized” by the authorities. Milivojevic said to Beta that Nestorovic was the most desirable coalition partner in Belgrade, and that the Serbian Progressive Party and the Socialist Party of Serbia were helpless without him, adding that he might even “elbow out” the post of Belgrade mayor, or influence the appointment. “It wasn’t an overnight success for Nestorovic’s candidates – they are public figures and successful people, and the authorities did not want to interfere, because they wanted to bring down the ratings of the right-wing opposition,” Milivojevic said. The analyst also said that the opposition jeopardized their victory in the Belgrade polls with a request that the parliamentary elections and the polls in Belgrade be held together, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic gladly accommodated them. “The results would have been different had the opposition requested a snap vote in Belgrade last June, where the protests reached their peak,” Milivojevic said, adding that the opposition would have won then.

 

UN adopts Resolution on Protection of Whistleblowers on Serbia’s proposal (RTS/Tanjug)

 

The Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that at the tenth conference of the contracting states of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was held on 11-15 December in Atlanta, the Resolution on the Protection of Whistleblowers was adopted, which was prepared by the government of Serbia. In the proposal of this document, Serbia stated that in the contracting states of the Convention, it is necessary to adopt regulations on the protection of whistleblowers, which will provide adequate protection against retaliation or other unfair treatment to persons who reveal certain information related to illegal behaviour. It was pointed out that the right to whistleblowing is a human right, which protects freedom of speech and is important for strengthening the rule of law and the development of the countries that are parties to the Convention. The adoption of the Resolution at the conference in Atlanta recognised and confirmed the best practice that Serbia has in the protection of whistleblowers, which through the adopted resolution will encourage the creation of successful whistleblower protection systems in the 190 contracting states of the Convention.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Mehmedagic and Debevec arrested for abuse of office (FTV)

 

Acting upon the order of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, members of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) of B&H arrested President of the Court of B&H Ranko Debevec and former Director of the B&H Intelligence-Security Agency (OSA) of B&H Osman Mehmedagic in Sarajevo on Monday. Debevec and Mehmedagic were both arrested on charges of committing abuse of office. However, no further information was provided. Debevec and Mehmedagic were transferred to SIPA premises in Istocno Sarajevo, where they underwent criminal processing. Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H Milanko Kajganic said that they are suspected of criminal acts of abuse of office, connected with other criminal acts from the Criminal Code of B&H. B&H Minister of Security Nenad Nesic noted: “The two are accused of abuse of official position and today's operation showed what I have been saying since the beginning of my mandate, which is that all those who have violated the law cannot be protected regardless of their position. There are no untouchables and everyone who violates the law will be prosecuted.” Debevec’s attorney Vasvija Vidovic arrived at the SIPA premises, but she refused to provide any comment to media. FTV further reported that the investigation is in progress, while information, for now, are not being revealed. However, the arrest brings the ‘Wiretapping’ affair back into public focus. The positions and the system were allegedly used for illegal purposes. The claims about this affair were made by B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konakovic. Konakovic said that OSA wiretapped politicians and journalists by personal choice. Konakovic noted: “I responsibly claim and know that the OSA has documented more than 100 cases of abuse of wiretapping without a court order. There is evidence that has been forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office that speaks of his guilt, it is up to them and we are asking them why, what and when the prosecution of these matters will begin". The Prosecutor’s Office of B&H has never confirmed these allegations. However, the connection between Debevec and Mehmedagic has been talked about for a long time. In August last year, the Disciplinary Commission for Judges of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of B&H issued a public warning to Debevec, and the second-instance commission acquitted him. The report read that Debevec intentionally provided false information in connection with job applications, promotion and career advancement issues. At the same time, the meeting with the then director of the OSA, Mehmedagic, against who criminal proceedings were conducted before the Court of B&H at the time, was deemed inappropriate. Debevec has been in the position of president of the Court of B&H since 2016, and at the beginning of this year, as the only candidate, he was re-elected to this position. On the other hand, Mehmedagic was in focus of the ‘Diploma’ affair several times during his mandate as the OSA director. That, along with alleged money laundering during the purchase of two houses, was the reason for his arrest in 2021. After the affair and arrest, Mehmedagic was included in the US blacklist, the first time in March, and the second time this month, due to corruption and work for the interests of SDA.

 

Bubic confirms that trial hearing in case of Dodik is to be held on 20 December (RTRS/Nova BH)

 

The Court of B&H rejected a request of a defense team of RS President Milorad Dodik to postpone a hearing scheduled for 20 December 2023 at 13,00hrs. The defense team of Dodik demanded to postpone the hearing because another request was not yet solved, i.e. the one to transfer the case from Sarajevo to Banja Luka. Dodik and Acting Director of the RS Official Gazette Milos Lukic are indicted of failure to implement decisions of (High Representative) Christian Schmidt. Dodik’s lawyer Goran Bubic confirmed this information for RTRS. Bubic told RTRS that this is a staged process that jeopardizes the constitutional order of B&H. RTRS reported about the message from the RS that this is a staged process that has only one goal and that is to remove Dodik from the political scene. According to RTRS, the role of the US Ambassador to B&H Michael Murphy and some opposition leaders in this case have emerged to the surface. Dodik stated: “The unconstitutional court, the illegal high representative, are trying to politically chase the legal representative of the Republic, that is it. There are some procedures in all of this. It can be seen that they are trying to speed up that process, probably wanting to reach a verdict as soon as possible”. Dodik also said that the refusal of the Court of B&H to postpone his hearing proves that there are attempts to accelerate this process and reach a verdict without application of laws. “We will show that everything stands on shaky legs. This is a procedural story in a process about which everything has been said already, which is that the unconstitutional court and illegal High Representative are trying to carry out a political persecution of the legal RS President”, Dodik

 

Zvizdic: Islamophobia in Balkans in string, Dodik is Russian proxy, there is visible rift between Dodik and Vucic (Oslobodjenje)

 

Guest of this week’s podcast of Oslobodjenje editor-in-chief Vildana Selimbegovic was B&H House of Representatives deputy speaker Denis Zvizdic. Speaking about Islamophobia in Europe, Zvizdic argued that the worst cases of anti-Muslim chauvinism can be seen in the Balkans, as demonstrated in many statements of Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and RS President Milorad Dodik. Zvizdic noted that Dodik almost always calls Bosniaks “Muslims” and makes insulting comments about them. Zvizdic reminded that Dodik has been blacklisted and targeted by US sanctions twice, but the EU is hesitating to sanction him. According to Zvizdic, such EU policy is inconsistent and it seems that the EU does not respect its own principles. However, said Zvizdic, thigs will eventually escalate so much that the EU will be forced to react in order to preserve peace in B&H and in the Western Balkans. Zvizdic also stated that he is negatively surprised by frequent anti-West statements of SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic. He noted that Izetbegovic and Dodik use very similar rhetoric to speak about US Ambassador Michael Murphy. “That is completely inexplicable. I do not know what is happening and if there has been a change in SDA policy, or if this is just another completely senseless attempt to defend those who inflicted greatest damage on him and SDA; which is no longer a desirable coalition partner in B&H”, said Zvizdic. He underlined that Ambassador Murphy is very engaged, and that the USA is the most important friend and partner to B&H. Speaking about the situation in the RS, Zvizdic said that there are people in the RS with the right mindset about the present and the future of B&H. However, he underlined Dodik is a Russian proxy who serves Russian interest and he behaves as instructed by Kremlin. “We would need to see what is it exactly that Russian President agrees with. Does Putin support his secessionist policy? Does he support change of borders in the Western Balkans? Does he support Dodik’s idea about the new Serb world or new Greater Serbia, consisting of the RS and parts of Macedonia”, Zvizdic wondered. He underlined that the only right path for B&H is primarily the path to NATO membership, and then the path to EU membership as well. Commenting the relations between Dodik and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Zvizdic said that there is a visible rift emerging between Dodik and Vucic. In his opinion, Dodik has become a burden for Vucic because of his too radical stances and the desire to be the main Serb leader in the region. According to Zvizdic, Vucic is already looking for new partners in the RS.

 

Milatovic: Mandic shouldn’t have been present in any election headquarters in Serbia (RTCG)

 

President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic said he believed that parliament speaker Andrija Mandic should not have been in any election headquarters in Serbia last night and that it was a bad message. Last night, Mandic attended in Belgrade the address of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to the headquarters of the Serbia must not stop electoral list, led by the Serbian Progressive Party. “I saw it last night. I think it is a matter of Mr. Mandic’s personal and professional responsibility. I think that Parliament Speaker of Montenegro was not supposed to be in the election headquarters of any party in Serbia last night, but in any case, as I said, it is a matter of Mandic’s professional and personal responsibility”, Milatovic told reporters in Cetinje. He added that the message was certainly not “good”.

 

Remikovic: So far, 564,000 people have been enumerated, there’s enough time to complete census within deadline (TV Vijesti)

 

Deputy director of the MONSTAT Statistical Office, Snezana Remikovic, said that since the beginning of the census on 3 December, inclusive of yesterday, 564,000 persons, 308,000 apartments and 181,000 households had been enumerated. She added that there was enough time for the census, which has been extended until 28 December, to be completed on time, even in municipalities where there was a lack of enumerators. Remikovic emphasized that the inspection established that, despite the fact that some enumerators were excluded due to misuse, no data from the “sensitive category” was changed. Preliminary results on the number of inhabitants, households and apartments will be available no later than 30 days after the census has been completed. The final ones are expected at about 6 months after that.

 

MONSTAT terminates contract with one instructor and 16 enumerators and condemns publication of their identities (CdM)

 

MONSTAT Statistical Office has announced today that the contract with one instructor and 16 enumerators was terminated due to the use of erasable pens. At the same time, MONSTAT condemns the publication of their names. “In the last few days, which was communicated to the public, a serious irregularity was recorded in the enumeration process, both with the enumerators and with the instructors, and it refers to the use of erasable pens”, MONSTAT said. In connection with this case, and after the published statement by MOSTAT on the conduct of enumerators contrary to the instructions for enumeration, “the contract with one instructor and 16 enumerators was terminated due to their use, and further inspection is in progress”. The competent authorities are involved in the investigation of this case and an additional inspection of the credibility of the data is carried out. MONSTAT supports the competent authorities to act in accordance with their competences and to sanction any bad intention if it is found. It emphasizes that all persons engaged in the census who perform census activities in violation of the Law will bear legal responsibility.

 

Osmani: Adriatic Charter has fulfilled its goals, time for a new strategic concept (MIA)

 

The US - Adriatic Charter (A5) has fulfilled its goals, since all founding members of the A5 have become members of NATO, including Montenegro. The 20th anniversary of the Charter calls for a new strategic concept for the coming decade, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani at a joint press conference in Skopje with his Albanian counterpart, Igli Hasani, whose country is assuming the 2024 Chairpersonship of the Adriatic Charter. “First of all, considering the ongoing security challenges faced by the region, especially after the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, we decided on a more proactive engagement and as chair country we initiated a process strengthening the political role of the platform. We drafted and agreed on a document which placed the foundations for the creation of a new strategic concept of A5. We believed that the 20th anniversary calls for reflection. Has the A5 achieved its goals? We can freely say that it has, since all founding members have become NATO member states, including Montenegro, and we also have states who are aspiring to join NATO. On the basis of this, we outlined two priorities in the new strategic concept for the coming decade,” said Osmani. The concept envisages enhanced political coordination between NATO member states who are a part of the Charter, and the promotion of regional cooperation. “The idea is for NATO member states that are a part of the A5 platform to coordinate in order to determine our joint positions, which we would promote within NATO. And the second pillar would be how to help the countries who are aspiring to join the platform, as well as the countries who are aspiring to join NATO,” said Osmani. According to the Foreign Minister, improving regional cooperation and addressing security risks are also a part of the strategic concept. “In this context, it’s important to touch upon the recent violent attack in Banjska, in the north of Kosovo, by a Serbian paramilitary structure, and firmly condemn it as a Charter and call for all who carried it out to be held accountable. Such events have the potential to destabilize the region, and our role, as a platform, is to address such security challenges. We believe that the continuation of the Euro-Atlantic path, NATO membership of the countries which aspire to it, and EU membership of all candidates, is the only way towards a sustainable stabilization of the region,” said Osmani. The Foreign Minister of Albania, Igli Hasani, expressed support for North Macedonia’s concept, and said Albania is reviewing several priorities for its Chairpersonship next year, such as further strengthening of the political engagement and political decisiveness in the fulfillment of joint goals. “Albania is fully committed to promote peace and stability, to encourage dialogue and to improve cooperation with the Western Balkans. We remain firm supporters of the region’s Euro-Atlantic integration, with unshakeable conviction the promotion of democratic and good-neighborly relations is very important to the region, leading to an improvement in regional stability. Our region deserves peace, stability and cooperation for a better, shared future,” said Hasani. The Albanian FM also condemned the events in the north of Kosovo and urged that the organized be held accountable, and added that Tirana fully supports Pristina’s efforts to become a member of the Charter.

 

Negotiating framework serves as wall for Bulgarian demands, constitutional changes much greater obstacle: FM (MIA)

 

It isn’t very important if Bulgaria will have new demands in the future, what is important is that we have raised a wall towards any Bulgarian demands, and that’s the negotiating framework, and the protocols aren’t a part of it. The constitutional amendments are a much greater obstacle to the continuation of the European path, and there is a chance that we see a repeat of Bucharest 2008, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani in answer to a journalist’s question Monday. Asked to respond to the statement of his Bulgarian counterpart Mariya Gabriel, who said the constitutional amendments are not the only requirement Bulgaria has for North Macedonia on its path to the EU, Osmani said he wouldn’t want to raise such a topic ahead of the elections since, according to him, it is later abused by political factors. The FM clarified that on 15 and 16 December, when the EU held its Summit in Brussels, one of the draft-conclusions for North Macedonia stated that the country must implement the protocols in addition to the agreements with Prespa and Bulgaria, however, he said, the conclusion that was adopted at the Summit, doesn’t refer to the protocols. “Only what is outlined in the negotiating framework can pass through its pores, and it’s a fact that the benchmarks for the opening and closing of chapters don’t include questions related to issues of identity and history. Yes, there are questions related to minority issues, to human rights, because we sought to move away the focus from the trajectory of identity and history to the trajectory of minority issues and human rights. So, this is the best answer to Minister Gabriel too, who, according to the media, said there are new requests. The requests will be only those that pass through the negotiating framework and nothing more. And that’s the greatest protection for us, for the process,” said Osmani at a joint press conference with his Albanian counterpart, Igli Hasani. Asked if the country risks not receiving aid from the EU’s Western Balkans Growth Plan if it fails to adopt the constitutional amendments, Osmani said all stakeholders have confirmed that the European Commission will adopt a decision on the basis of whether the country has fulfilled the necessary reforms. “The decision won’t be by the member states, so Bulgaria won’t be able to exert its influence. So, I think that we need to carry out the reforms, but the constitutional amendments are a much greater obstacle. In an interview today, I said I fear that we could see a repeat of Bucharest 2008. Back then we were together with Albania and Croatia, we had a more favorable offer for the name dispute compared to the one we had as the final offer in 2018, we didn’t accept it because we lacked courage. Due to the actions of the same actors we wasted 15 years, Albania and Croatia became NATO member states. We lost 500.000 citizens who left the country due to the lack of perspective, and in the end we solved the dispute. The same can happen now due to the lack of courage or as a result of this wave of dark nationalist forces that want to kidnap the future of the citizens,” said Osmani.

 

Mickoski: VMRO-DPMNE should participate in caretaker government, but abstain in parliament vote (360 stepeni/MIA)

 

VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said he believes the party he heads should participate in the caretaker government, but also abstain in the vote for it in parliament. In the coming days, he said, the party’s bodies will adopt a position. “My position is that in these conditions, when this is regulated by law, VMRO-DPMNE should participate in the caretaker government. It should nominate its representatives, but at the same time it should abstain from voting for the composition of that government, because we believe that the selection of the person who will be leading that government is against the law,” Mickoski told 360 stepeni in an interview Monday. According to Mickoski, the selection of parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi for the post of caretaker prime minister is unconstitutional and contrary to the Law on Government, because he isn’t proposed by the largest political party in power. The VMRO-DPMNE leader said if the party decides to participate in the caretaker government, it will propose a law in parliament which would scrap the caretaker government from 1 January 2024.

 

We already own over 50% of the capacity to be considered ready for EU membership (Radio Tirana)

 

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama declared today that Albania today possesses over 50% of the capacity to be considered ready for membership in the EU. During the meeting with the EU membership negotiation team, Prime Minister Edi Rama emphasized that over 50% is more than enough, considering that this is only the beginning of the process. "During this process, you have given evidence that it is to a certain extent, not completely, it is up to us to speed up the process. It is very important that this be our fundamental motive in the phase we are about to enter. Let's speed up the process,” added Rama. Today, he continued, "we are part of the vanguard. We have gained a lot of time lost unfairly because they prevented us unfairly, but we continued to prepare. This is one of the reasons why we were so lucky in this process and why we have the opportunity to speed up the process even more," prime Minister added. Rama also said that we should be ready for the EU long before the EU is ready for us. "We must do this not for the EU and to get ahead of others in the region, but to bring the EU here as soon as possible, to ensure that in every sector European norms, European legal measures are installed here," underscored Albanian Prime Minister during the meeting the EU membership national negotiation team.

 

EU Negotiations, Dhuka: The voice of the Albanians resonated strongly in Brussels (Radio Tirana)

 

The Minister of State, concurrently serving as the Chief Negotiator of Albania in the EU membership negotiations, Majlinda Dhuka, declared today that the voice of the Albanians resonated strongly in Brussels. During her address at the meeting with the national team involved in the European Union membership negotiations, where Prime Minister Edi Rama was also present, Dhuka extended her gratitude to the institutions actively engaged in these negotiations. She specifically mentioned entities like ILD, KLJ, Bank of Albania, AMA Competition Authority, among others. "Back then and now, at the onset of this process, there was an uncontained surge of our energy. Sympathy began to burgeon, appreciation for our preparedness emerged, and the conclusion of bilateral meetings was often marked by embraces, photographs, and the shared jubilation in the ambiance of Brussels. Undoubtedly, the voice of the Albanians resonated strongly not just professionally, but also with an emotional investment in Brussels," stated Dhuka. She emphasized, "We have only just begun this commendable work." Dhuka stressed that "Next year, Albania will move forward resolutely with all the advancements and groundwork, as we have deliberated and will continue to deliberate." The minister mentioned, "Our national negotiation team comprises 36 teams divided into 6 formations, known in the language of negotiations as group chapters." She expressed gratitude to the negotiators of the first group, acknowledging their pivotal role in inaugurating the entire process and simultaneously setting the stage for the prompt opening of negotiations for the first group chapter. Albania successfully submitted these negotiations on the 13th in Brussels, coinciding with the EU-Western Balkans Summit.

 

Albania takes the presidency of the A-5 Charter, Hasani: Priority to unblock the impasse for Kosovo's membership (Radio Tirana)

 

Starting on 1 January 2024, Albania will temporarily assume the one-year presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter Partnership Commission (A-5). During the A-5 ministerial meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia, Igli Hasani, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, emphasized the necessity to cease blocking Kosovo's membership within the A-5. "Kosovo's membership has been significantly delayed. We have consistently and wholeheartedly supported Kosovo's inclusion in our initiative, and it's regrettable that this membership remains blocked. Throughout our presidency, our primary focus will be on expeditiously resolving this issue," he stated. During the press conference marking the handover of the presidency from North Macedonia to Albania, Minister Hasani acknowledged and appreciated the pivotal role of the A-5 Charter in the regional countries' endeavors towards complete Euro-Atlantic integration. "We have supported RMV's initiative to revitalize the A-5 and aim to expand upon it during our presidency. Additionally, we are committed to tailoring the Charter to effectively address our collective responses to prevailing security threats and challenges," he mentioned. When questioned about the integration process of Albania and North Macedonia, Minister Hasani remarked that "both countries have undertaken commendable collaborative efforts, emphasizing that the region's journey toward EU integration should not encounter hindrances due to uncertainties or ambiguities." The US-Adriatic Charter is a regional security and political initiative that was initially established during the NATO Summit in Prague in November 2002. It was agreed upon by the presidents of Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, and the USA. Later, it expanded to include Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Kosovo, Slovenia, and Serbia were granted observer status within the Charter.