Antonella Riha: Brazen violation of the law during the elections for the REM Council

As many as 78 proposers and 16 candidates have so far stepped forward from the process of electing Council members Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), which leaves a huge space for rethinking the political, social and media the environment in which that formally independent body should be elected.

Journalist Antonella Riha, one of the candidates who withdrew from the election process, tells "Vreme" that the reason for such a decision is that the candidates do not agree to the illegality of the election of REM Council members.

"In the current course of work, the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information has shown that it does not comply with the law, and that is why from the very beginning we did not want to participate in something that violates the law," says Riha.

He states that the Assembly of Serbia did not actually fulfill the request of the students who blocked Radio and Television of Serbia by announcing a new competition for the selection of REM members.

"They actually did it under the pressure of the European Union, since the election of REM Council members is one of the conditions from Cluster 3. However, it turned out that the way they operate is purely a brazen violation of the law, and in this way an independent institution cannot be obtained, which REM should be," warns Riha.

"Let them play alone"

He points out that by electing the REM Council, the government had a chance to show that it respects democratic processes and procedures, but that did not happen.

"It will be interesting to see how the government will explain such actions to the EU, but also to citizens and students. In any case, if the REM Council is elected now, it will be illegitimate and will absolutely not protect human rights such as freedom of expression and will not prevent hate speech. And so far we have seen that REM did not react not only to omissions, but also to serious violations of the Code of Journalists and the law, which is primarily done by the pro-regime media, and this will only continue," Riha assesses.

He adds that "the authoritarian government of Aleksandar Vučić needs to keep everything under control" and that the media is one of the key levers of the government.

"It is clear that they do not want to let it out of their hands at any cost. If so far 78 proposers and 16 candidates have come forward, and there may be more, without so many participants in the process you cannot have a legitimate REM Council. The government has shown that it is not able to create an institution based on normality and democratic principles, so let them play by themselves," Riha concludes.

A politically compromised process

In the announcement published by the authorized proposers, male and female candidates who stepped forward from the process of electing members of the REM Council, it was pointed out that at the session of the Committee for Culture and Information, held on June 6, 2025, it was decided to "ignore the Law on Electronic Media and accept all illegal proposers and candidates".

It was stated that even at the later sessions held on June 9 and 11, objections were not considered, whereby the National Assembly and the competent committee "knowingly carried out a series of procedures that contradict the law, legal standards and principles of public interest".

"We will not be complicit in simulating reforms and pretending to fulfill European obligations while systematically collapsing REM as an independent body. REM is not a political tool - it exists to protect civil rights, freedom of expression, fight against hate speech and ensure real media pluralism. We are convinced that the European Union is not entered by bypassing the law, but through its consistent application. Due to all of the above, we believe that this process is legally and politically compromised and hereby confirm that we will no longer participate in it to participate", it was pointed out in the announcement.

Presentation of Gorica Popović and Mladen Matičević

On Thursday, June 12, six film associations and the Association of Dramatic Artists of Serbia and their four candidates withdrew from the process. Among them are film artists Gorica Popović and Mladen Matičević.

"We stand firmly behind the decision of our prominent members, film artists Gorica Popović and Mladen Matičević, to withdraw from the election process for the Council of REM, as a clear stand against election irregularities and non-transparency in the process of electing members of this body," the statement of the six associations stated.

The Association of Film Directors of Serbia, Documentaries of Serbia, Serbian Association of Cinematographers, Association of Film Actors of Serbia, Association of Film Artists of Serbia and Association of Screenwriters of Serbia stated that they consider the move of Gorica Popović and Matičević "an expression of professional integrity and responsibility towards the public interest".

The appearance of Ivan Lalić and the "anti-Serb" Željko Hubač

The Association of Dramatic Artists of Serbia announced that it is withdrawing from the further procedure, supporting the decision of its members Željko Hubač and Ivan Lalić to withdraw their candidacies due to lack of transparency and numerous irregularities in the election process.

Previously, the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information concluded that Hubač's documentation is not valid and that he does not meet the required conditions for candidacy to the REM Council, while Nebojša Bakarec, one of the members of this Committee, said that Hubač is "anti-Serb".