Rajka Galin Ćertić, director of REM since December 2023, resigned in the middle of the election campaign, a week after the incident in REM's premises. According to Nova.rs, he wants to terminate the contract by October 26.
According to Nova.rs information, Galin Ćertić made the decision when she was asked to make an official note about the conflict between Informer editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević and member of REM's expert service Svetlana Trajković in REM's premises. She requested that the employment relationship end as of October 26.
Šabić told Nova.rs that the dismissal did not surprise him, because, as he says, for weeks there has been an atmosphere in REM in which some members of the Council, protecting individuals, harshly attack their colleagues, which led to chaos. He claims that there is a pro-government part of the Council that persistently refuses to sanction certain media and that the director's resignation complicates the situation. The selection of a new director, he said, is a very complex and lengthy procedure, and one cannot even guess who it could be.
Galin Ćertić did not contact the media until the text was published.
The REM director is appointed by the REM Council, which has nine members, based on a public competition. The candidate must have at least ten years of work experience in the field within the scope of the regulator, and the term of office lasts five years, with the possibility that the same person may be re-appointed a maximum of two times. The director is employed by REM and reports to the Council, to which he submits regular and annual reports.
Galin Ćertić, lawyer, has been working at REM since 2016, first in public relations, and then as assistant director for legal affairs and general secretary. In 2021, she was elected executive director. In October 2021, she was also a member of the Temporary Supervisory Body for media monitoring during the election campaign.
On December 25, 2023, the Council of REM unanimously elected her as a director for five years, after a competition in which she was the only candidate, and she replaced the long-term incumbents.
In the October 9 conflict, according to letter of four members of the Council, stood between Vučićević and the employee and thus prevented a physical attack. Vučićević claims that the analyst attacked him first, and the video shows that he said that her report was "for dismissal". On October 6, the REM Council launched two investigative procedures against the Informer, and at the October 9 session, none of the proposed decisions received the necessary majority.
The director of REM manages the legal, financial and operational sectors of the institution, including the expert service that prepares reports on violations of the rules in the campaign, so the director's departure in the middle of the election period further complicates the work of the body that Council members have already warned against making decisions.
For employees in the professional service, it is also a question of protection from pressures at work. For voters and international observers, who follow the media environment, it is a new indicator of the situation in the institution responsible for the supervision of televisions.
Galin Ćertić will stop working on October 26 at the latest. The Council of REM should announce a public competition for a new director, and it has not been announced who will lead the service until the successor is chosen.
REM Council member Miloš Garić said that REM director Rajka Galin Ćertić informed the Council members that her employment will end on October 23 due to retirement, and he dismissed other information about her departure as speculation.
Garić told FoNet that a few days ago, the director sent information about the termination of the employment relationship to the members of the Council in writing, adding that he showed that document at yesterday's session of the REM Council.
He rejected media reports that the director had resigned, stressing that he was talking about the official information that Council members received from her.
Garić stated that the REM Council will discuss in the coming days how to ensure adequate performance of the director's duties after her departure.
According to his words, the members of the Council have not yet spoken with the director, who is currently on her way, and it is expected that they will consider the next steps and possible solutions upon her return.
"We agree that it is something that requires a quick reaction and an adequate solution. In any case, we will find a solution," said Garić, adding that the director has the right to retire after many years of work.
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