Can the opposition win in Novi Sad and elsewhere in Vojvodina in the spring? It is possible, says former mayor Borislav Novaković - if the "Serbia against violence" coalition gets even bigger, and the entire opposition starts a showdown with election fraudsters.
In the republican elections in December, the Progressives in Novi Sad won about 39 percent of the votes, and "Serbia against violence" almost 34 percent of the votes. The NADA coalition won 6,2 percent, while the SPS barely managed four. Branimir Nestorović's movement won 5,45 percent of the vote.
Somewhere around five percent of clearly opposition votes were cast on lists that did not pass the census. The difference between suburban and urban areas is more than visible: in many election places in city districts, the opposition won convincingly.
It is unknown how this post-election crisis will affect the voters until the spring, when the city of Novi Sad is voted for. Also, will the arrival of new "Novosadians" continue and what will be the opposition's response to the election gimmicks?
Former mayor of Novi Sad and senior official of the National Movement of Serbia Borislav Novaković says that even in these political circumstances the opposition can win in Novi Sad.
"The opposition must increase its dominance in the urban areas of the city, and additionally reduce the advantage of the SNS in the suburbs," Novaković told "Vreme".
It is necessary to consolidate the opposition
"The SNS intends to shred and fragment the opposition offer before the local elections with false 'groups of citizens', which would be under their control. "Our answer must be the opposite - pooling all opposition capacities," he adds.
"We must keep together the 'Serbia against violence' coalition and offer certain groups whose values are similar to our coalition - a coordinated or joint performance in the next elections," adds our interlocutor.
He reminds that in none of the 45 Vojvodina self-governments there were extraordinary local elections in December. He believes that the opposition should agree on a model that could be acceptable for all municipalities and cities in Vojvodina.
"Thus, the campaign would be stronger, the message clearer and the result more certain." There is no doubt that this would mean a strong institutional establishment of the opposition in Vojvodina, regardless of whether its result will lead to victory or just a large number of mandates in local parliaments. That would permanently change the balance of power and the political landscape of Vojvodina," Novaković is convinced.
"Civil disobedience and resistance"
He says that all parties must be cooperated in order to prevent election shenanigans and vote buying. When asked how to fight it, he says:
"Unfortunately, I have the impression that the institutional ways of struggle are quite exhausted." That is why in the coming period we will have a persistent struggle, all kinds of civil disobedience and resistance. The theft of elections has completely rendered politics in Serbia meaningless. She led us into a labyrinth of uncivilized behavior and open dictatorship. That's why our response must be appropriate to that fact."
Full analysis read about the chances of the opposition in local elections in the spring in the weekly "Vreme", which is on newsstands from this Thursday (January 25)
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