Coalition members "Serbia against violence" left the collegium convened by the President of the Assembly of Serbia, which was attended by representatives of the non-governmental organizations CRTA, CeSID and Transparency Serbia, as well as the American Ambassador Christopher Hill, the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giofre and the head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Jan Bratu.
"I don't use the word boycott." We want to go to the polls, but we must not allow it theft. A minimum of conditions is required," the president of the Democratic Party, Zoran Lutovac, told Vreme.
The problem, says Lutovac, is that the police and other institutions do not work, but are part of the system, as well as that the party has merged with the state, which is unconstitutional.
"From CRTE, they pointed out what is very important, which is the entrenched practice of impunity, which leads to the repetition of the same irregularities and theft." "Without punishment, there will be no preventive measures," notes Lutovac.
Ignoring prerequisites for elections
As the president of the Democratic Party, Zoran Lutovac, told "Vreme", the first impression is that the opposition was not consulted for the agenda and that three demands, which are a prerequisite for the implementation of ODHIR's recommendations, were ignored. These are control of the voter list, access to the media, as well as all local elections in Serbia being held on the same day.
"Those three demands were not on today's agenda. With that, I proposed an amendment to the agenda, but it was ignored by returning to other topics," says Zoran Lutovac.
Lutovac says that the first two requests were not accepted either, because the acceptance of control, which implies only an inspection of the voter's list, without its revision, makes no sense.
"They say that it is an encroachment on the powers of state institutions and bodies," says Lutovac.
Denying the problem
According to the president of the DS, Ana Brnabić denies the existence of a political crisis and presents the dialogue as an improvement of the electoral process, which has been good so far.
"The point is that we first have the conditions and only then the elections." They are campaigning heavily, with pressure on voters and thefts, as in the previous elections," said Lutovac and reminded that the opposition requested a dialogue in time, but the first meeting was held only two days before the elections were announced.
He explains that the essence should be consensus and restore confidence in the electoral process.
"We will see if they are ready to admit that there is a problem and to fundamentally accept the recommendations." If they don't do it, and it should be done very soon, there will be an even bigger gap and mistrust among citizens," said Lutovac.
If the requests are accepted
If the demands of the opposition are accepted and the minimum conditions for free and fair elections are created, it is necessary to expand the political alliance that will oppose the regime coalition, to create the widest possible social alliance that would include all social layers, associations, organizations, unions, the academic community, public figures, as well as a common candidate who is generally acceptable and recognizable, with indisputable human and professional qualities, concluded Lutovac.
