Constitution referendum "won't coincide with Belgrade vote"

Constitution referendum "won't coincide with Belgrade vote"

In addition, Danas sources said that the top SNS leadership is most likely to abandon the idea of holding a referendum on changing the country's Constitution together with the Belgrade elections.

"The team for the capital will appear collectively in the campaign, while the decision on who will become the mayor will be made based on the election results achieved by the SNS. The current Mayor Sinisa Mali will remain in office until the election has been announced, and the option of withdrawing him - i.e., having him resign a couple of months before the election, will definitely not be used," said the source.

As for who will all be in the SNS team for the city campaign - that "remains uncertain."

"Media expert Nebojsa Krstic and, of course, City Manager Goran Vesic" are being mentioned, according to the article - with the latter described as having "the strongest ambition to become the head of the capital (city)."

Vesic recently stated that he has not been "preparing for the candidacy - because the decision is political, and one not made by him."

As for abandoning the idea of holding a Constitution referendum - "it is believed that this option is likely for the sake of not burdening city issues with national ones."

The resignation of Mayor Mali - as well as him remaining in office until the end if his mandate - has been announced in statements made by the leader of the SNS and the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic first announced Mali's departure last spring, after the mayor's ex-wife spoke publicly about her former husband taking the custody of their children thanks to his political power, while also physically harassing her - as well as about Mali's suspicious and corrupt dealings.

This was one in a series of scandals related to Sinisa Mali (such as, "24 apartments in Bulgaria", Savamala, etc.), which ended with a joint statement issued by the former spouses who said they had reached a deal regarding the custody of their children.

The story then disappeared from the public eye, while Mali's resignation was hinted at during several sessions of the City Assembly - but never materialized.

For several months, Deputy Mayor Andreja Mladenovic (Independent DSS) was the one who would appear in public - but in recent months Mali returned to his mayoral duties in full capacity.

Recently, Vucic told a national broadcaster that Mali was "an excellent mayor" and that he had been "unjust towards him."

The previous local elections in the City of Belgrade were held in March 2014, alongside the early parliamentary ballot - and now March 2018 is the deadline to hold them again.

Those the newspaper spoke to "ruled out the possibility that these elections would be announced for any date prior to the New Year" - and explained that if that were the case, legal deadlines would already be in place, and electoral procedures already launched.