“Move-Change” and Savo Manojlović announce their candidacy, 24 April 2024
Photo: FoNet
BELGRADE – Savo Manojlović, campaign director of a group of activists “Go-Change” (“Kreni-Promeni”) announced today that this organisation would run in the Belgrade election on 2 June.
“Go-Change” will run in the election alone and will not join any coalition, while Manojlović will be its candidate for mayor, it was confirmed at today’s press conference.
Though Manojlović and his organisation have not been included in any publicly released opinion poll in recent years, commentators believe that they will be able to attract a part of opposition voters, including those who might have otherwise abstained.
Manojlović rose to national prominence in late 2021, when “Go-Change” organised highly attended protests against two laws which were seen as laying the groundwork for the the lithium mining project in western Serbia.
Critics claimed that the project, headed by the multinational company Rio Tinto, would cause significant environmental harm to the area. The protests resulted in withdrawal of the two laws.
Shortly afterwards, the Government of Serbia announced it was suspending the project with Rio Tinto, though recent information indicated that it might be renewed.
Commentators at the time described these concessions as the biggest political defeat of President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić to that point.
Immediately after these protests, parts of the public urged Manojlović to run in the April 2022 presidential election against Vučić. He declined, but did not rule out a future political career.
In addition to environmental activism, “Go-Change” has launched various campaigns and petitions on local and social issues in recent years.
Speaking at today’s press conference, Manojlović said that the biggest problem of Belgrade today is apathy and that the goal of “Go-Change” was to create optimism.
“The focus of the campaign will be environmental issues under the authority of local administration and fight against corruption”, Manojlović said.
Answering the question on the unfair electoral conditions, due to which a part of the opposition which ran in December decided to boycott the June elections, Manojlović agreed that the conditions are a big problem, but added that the only way to defeat the current government is with a high turnout in an election.
