Belgrade assembly dispute moves to Presidency

Representatives of the SRS, SPS and DSS have filed an official request to the Presidency. Parties are calling for the urgent scheduling of the Belgrade assembly’s constitutive session. Belgrade assembly dispute moves to Presidency They also filed the coalition agreement between the parties. Serb Radical Party Secretary-General and the coalition’s candidate for mayor Aleksandar Vucic told the media that they had appealed to President Boris Tadic to overturn the “illegal and immoral decision” by Acting Mayor Zoran Alimpic to postpone the constitutive session until July 14. Vucic said that he expected the authorities to voice their opinion on the request and that he hoped that the evidence concerning the coalition agreement would be enough to convince them to schedule the session as soon as possible. "We think reason will prevail, and that they will act as we did in Novi Sad, where we scheduled the constitutive session for June 16, which we’re proud of, because we have shown that even when we lose, we do so in a democratic and legal way,” the SRS secretary-general pointed out. He said that senior Democratic Party (DS) official and outgoing Speaker Oliver Dulic’s comments that a government should be formed as soon as possible were hypocritical, because at the same time, DS officials were obstructing the formation of a Belgrade local government, even though a majority had already been formed. Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) spokesman Andreja Mladenovic said that he hoped that Boris Tadic would pressure his party into scheduling the constitutive session of the city parliament before July 14, because if they refused to do so, it would weaken the country’s institutions. Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) representative Aleksandar Antic said that today’s action represented yet more proof of the coalition’s desire to assume responsibility “when life in Belgrade is at stake.” New Serbia (NS) official Dubravka Filipovska said that she expected Tadic’s response to be rapid, and added that she expected a public apology from Alimpic. SRS, SPS and Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS)-NS coalition senior officials arrived at the presidency accompanied by members of their parties’ youth movements. The complete documentation including the coalition agreement and application will be submitted to Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Dulic and Local Self-Government Minister Milan Markovic.

Belgrade assembly dispute moves to Presidency

They also filed the coalition agreement between the parties. Serb Radical Party Secretary-General and the coalition’s candidate for mayor Aleksandar Vučić told the media that they had appealed to President Boris Tadić to overturn the “illegal and immoral decision” by Acting Mayor Zoran Alimpić to postpone the constitutive session until July 14.

Vučić said that he expected the authorities to voice their opinion on the request and that he hoped that the evidence concerning the coalition agreement would be enough to convince them to schedule the session as soon as possible.

"We think reason will prevail, and that they will act as we did in Novi Sad, where we scheduled the constitutive session for June 16, which we’re proud of, because we have shown that even when we lose, we do so in a democratic and legal way,” the SRS secretary-general pointed out.

He said that senior Democratic Party (DS) official and outgoing Speaker Oliver Dulić’s comments that a government should be formed as soon as possible were hypocritical, because at the same time, DS officials were obstructing the formation of a Belgrade local government, even though a majority had already been formed.

Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) spokesman Andreja Mladenović said that he hoped that Boris Tadić would pressure his party into scheduling the constitutive session of the city parliament before July 14, because if they refused to do so, it would weaken the country’s institutions.

Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) representative Aleksandar Antić said that today’s action represented yet more proof of the coalition’s desire to assume responsibility “when life in Belgrade is at stake.”

New Serbia (NS) official Dubravka Filipovska said that she expected Tadić’s response to be rapid, and added that she expected a public apology from Alimpić.

SRS, SPS and Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS)-NS coalition senior officials arrived at the presidency accompanied by members of their parties’ youth movements.

The complete documentation including the coalition agreement and application will be submitted to Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, Dulić and Local Self-Government Minister Milan Marković.