Vučić at the opening of the new railway station in Belgrade, October 2023
Photo: Facebook / Aleksandar Vučić
BELGRADE – Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) yesterday rejected complaints that the name of the President Aleksandar Vučić cannot be in the list submitted by the coalition around the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) because he is the President of the Republic of Serbia.
The name of the list, which was proclaimed on Friday, is “Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Must Not Stop”.
The citizens who submitted the complaints cited the Article 111 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, which states that “The President of the Republic shall express state unity of the Republic of Serbia”.
However, according to Beta news agency, member of RIK cited the Law on Election of MPs, which states that “the name of the electoral list may contain name and surname of one or more natural persons (list leaders) subject to their written statement of agreement to that effect”. This statement of agreement has been granted by President Vučić.
Vučić has not been a candidate for an MP since 2016, but his name has continued to appear in the name of the lists submitted by SNS in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 parliamentary elections.
The practice, however, is not new and was also implemented in 2012, when the President of Serbia was Boris Tadić.
Vučić’s name, also, has been in the lists submitted by SNS for local elections.
For years, Vučić has been criticised by multiple experts for violating the Constitutional provisions by, according to this interpretation, exceeding the limited powers granted to the office of President. There are also those, however, who see his actions as violating the spirit, but not the letter of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court has not weighed in on the issue.
