Members of the coalition submitting the signatures for their candidacy
Photo: Facebook / Stranka slobode i pravde
BELGRADE – During this evening’s session, Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) proclaimed the “Serbia Against Violence” coalition as the seventh list on the ballot. The title of the list includes the names of Miroslav Aleksić (People’s Movement of Serbia) and Marinika Tepić (Freedom and Justice Party), who are also among the its top ten candidates, while the first candidate on the list is Radomir Lazović, recently elected as co-leader of the Green-Left Front.
The list is named after the massive protests which broke out following the tragic mass shootings on 3 and 4 May. The parties which have formed the coalition organised the protests, staying in the background at first, but then taking a more prominent role as the protests evolved to include broader anti-government issues.
As the ruling parties refused to meet the demands that the protests, parties organising them demanded early elections two months ago so that they could, as they said, implement the demands themselves after the government changes. This request was granted several weeks later by President Vučić, though his exact motivations for calling the elections remain unclear.
The demands of the “Serbia Against Violence” protests included the resignation of the Minister of Interior, members of the media watchdog REM and the withdrawal of licenses for two pro-government national television channels, which, according to the protesters, promote violence.
A total of nine pro-EU political parties formed the coalition. They include the centre-left Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) led by former mayor of Belgrade Dragan Đilas, newly founded centre-right People’s Movement of Serbia (NPS) led by one of the most prominent opposition MPs in the prevous parliament Miroslav Aleksić, as well as the Green-Left Front, a party that evolved from the grassroots “Do Not Let Belgrade Drown” movement.
The coalition also includes the formerly ruling centre-left Democratic Party (DS), Serbia Centre (SRCE), party set up by the runner-up of last year’s presidential election Zdravko Ponoš, liberal Free Citizens Movement, as well as the green “Together” party and “Ecological Uprising”.
Miroslav Aleksić is the second candidate on the list, while the third is Dragan Đilas. Marinika Tepić and Borko Stefanović, Vice Presidents of SSP, are the sixth and the eighth, respectively. Leaders of SRCE Zdravko Ponoš, DS Zoran Lutovac and PSG Pavle Grbović are among the top 40 candidates as well.
In last year’s election, the two coalitions that approximately resembled this one in terms of their members won around 19% of the vote and 51 out of 250 seats in the parliament. Whether their decision to unite will bring in additional voters this time remains to be seen.
“Our list has united in order to ensure a normal society. The citizens are tired of conflicts and it’s time to stand in the way of Serbia’s decline and to prevent it from continuing to live in a violent society,” said Marinika Tepić yesterday on the occasion of the submission of signatures to RIK.
