20 officials to step down due to conflict of interest

20 to 30 officials will resign after Constitutional Court’s decision that officials cannot perform several duties due to conflict of interest. Only 20 or 30 top officials will be affected by the Constitutional Court’s decision. 20 officials to step down due to conflict of interest Anti-Corruption Agency Board member Zlatko Minic has said that those are republic and provincial MPs who at the same time hold some other high posts and added that media allegations that about 1,300 officials will have to resign are not correct. “There are between 7,000 and 8,000 councilors in Serbia and majority of them hold other offices as well but they are not in a conflict of interest because a city councilor can be a director of some municipal public enterprise or a board of directors member, where there are no same levels of government,” he explained. According to the Constitutional Court’s decision, the directly elected officials will not be able to perform multiple duties that are in the conflict of interest and they will have 30 days to decide which office they want to keep. Minic stressed that according to the regulations, the officials need to report which positions they have and the Anti-Corruption Agency will then decide whether there is a conflict of interest and if there is it will give them 30 days to resign from on of the posts. He pointed out that certain officials had already resigned, while some had requested additional explanations from the Agency. “Mayors aren’t state officials” Together for Sumadija party leader, Kragujevac Mayor and MP Veroljub Stevanovic said Thursday that his party’s legal team was carefully studying the meaning of the Constitutional Court’s decision on the republic, provincial and local level. He pointed out that he was together with coalition partners from the United Regions of Serbia (URS) analyzing “political context of the Constitutional Court’s decision”. “According to our interpretation, the local self-government is not a part of the state government but a civilian sector and therefore mayors or municipal presidents are not state officials,” said Together for Sumadija Media Office head Zoran Palcic.

20 officials to step down due to conflict of interest

Anti-Corruption Agency Board member Zlatko Minić has said that those are republic and provincial MPs who at the same time hold some other high posts and added that media allegations that about 1,300 officials will have to resign are not correct.

“There are between 7,000 and 8,000 councilors in Serbia and majority of them hold other offices as well but they are not in a conflict of interest because a city councilor can be a director of some municipal public enterprise or a board of directors member, where there are no same levels of government,” he explained.

According to the Constitutional Court’s decision, the directly elected officials will not be able to perform multiple duties that are in the conflict of interest and they will have 30 days to decide which office they want to keep.

Minić stressed that according to the regulations, the officials need to report which positions they have and the Anti-Corruption Agency will then decide whether there is a conflict of interest and if there is it will give them 30 days to resign from on of the posts.

He pointed out that certain officials had already resigned, while some had requested additional explanations from the Agency.

“Mayors aren’t state officials”

Together for Šumadija party leader, Kragujevac Mayor and MP Veroljub Stevanović said Thursday that his party’s legal team was carefully studying the meaning of the Constitutional Court’s decision on the republic, provincial and local level.

He pointed out that he was together with coalition partners from the United Regions of Serbia (URS) analyzing “political context of the Constitutional Court’s decision”.

“According to our interpretation, the local self-government is not a part of the state government but a civilian sector and therefore mayors or municipal presidents are not state officials,” said Together for Šumadija Media Office head Zoran Palčić.