Consultations held ahead of inaugural parliamentary session; report released as representatives respond

The consultations were attended by Mario Reljanović and Aleksandar Čupić representing the Student List, Ana Brnabić and Milenko Jovanov from the "Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia" list, Boris Bajić from the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, Ahmedin Škrijelj from "SDA Sandžak – Guardians of Sandžak", and representatives of the "Rasim Ljajić – Human (SDP–CDP)", "Usame Zukorlić (SPP) – Movement for Unity" and "Albanian Coalition" electoral lists.

Jovanov warns of restrictions on opposition rights

Milenko Jovanov accused the Student List of attempting to introduce additional requirements for MPs seeking to chair parliamentary committees.

"We can already say that opposition rights in Parliament will be restricted. Being elected by the people is apparently no longer enough. Instead, some student assembly commission will decide whether an MP is qualified to chair a parliamentary committee," Jovanov said.

He argued that all MPs have equal rights under the Constitution, the Law on the National Assembly and Parliament's Rules of Procedure, regardless of their education or professional background.

"We will never accept student assembly commissions determining whether an MP is sufficiently qualified for any position. If this becomes the established practice, we will respond accordingly," he added.

Outgoing Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić also criticised the proposals, claiming that the United Serbia representatives had not been consulted about committee leadership positions.

"Nobody asked us whether we wanted to chair any committees. They simply informed us that they would chair them, which is contrary to the Constitution and the law and amounts to discrimination against MPs," Brnabić said.

She stressed that she had attended the consultations out of respect for Serbia's institutions and established parliamentary procedures.

Student List outlines plans for inaugural session

The Student List subsequently issued a statement on X presenting its account of the consultations.

The movement confirmed that Mario Reljanović and Aleksandar Čupić had represented it at the meeting, alongside representatives of United Serbia and minority electoral lists, as well as National Assembly Secretary-General Srđan Smiljanić.

According to the statement, the Student List wants the verification of parliamentary mandates to be completed as quickly as possible, with the inaugural session continuing immediately afterwards.

"The parliamentary administration will be informed in due course of the final agreement on the committee's membership," the statement said.

The movement also explained that the Speaker of Parliament, the number of Deputy Speakers and their appointments would be determined by a parliamentary majority.

It said discussions were continuing within its parliamentary group on whether some Deputy Speaker positions should be allocated to other political groups.

Representatives of all electoral lists agreed that voting should be conducted publicly.

Parliamentary committees and international delegations

According to the Student List, parliamentary committee membership will reflect the relative size of parliamentary groups, while committee chairs will be elected by majority vote within each committee.

International parliamentary delegations will be appointed based on proposals from the Speaker, following consultations with parliamentary group leaders in accordance with Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Rules of Procedure.

The Student List also requested that its MPs be seated to the right of the presiding officer in the parliamentary chamber.

Its representatives asked to receive official handover records for the outgoing Speaker and Secretary-General to establish the condition of the National Assembly and clarify the responsibilities of the previous officeholders.

The statement said representatives of the other electoral lists and the Secretary-General had agreed to this request.

Student delegation seeks permission to attend

Secretary-General Srđan Smiljanić asked the Student List to submit its proposed candidate for Speaker, the number and names of its Deputy Speaker nominees, and its candidates for the mandate verification committee by Monday.

The movement also requested permission for a student delegation to attend the inaugural session from the parliamentary gallery.

"As November 17 marks International Students' Day, our representatives requested permission for a student delegation to attend the inaugural session," the Student List said.