Serbia PM announces early general elections
Date
1/17/2016 8:53:26 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Speaking at a meeting the main board of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party on Sunday its leader Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he had decided to call early parliamentary and local elections.
“It is my decision that we are going to have elections we are going to be victorious” Vucic said speaking to some 500 members of his party.
He said he wanted to ensure that the country had stable rule and that its current political direction will continue – including its attempt to secure membership of the EU.
“I don’t want to endanger the future of Serbia” he said.
The date for the elections has not yet been set but the polls could be held alongside local and provincial elections in the northern province of Vojvodina which are to be held between April 22 and May 22.
The debate about whether there will be early parliamentary elections has been a hot topic in Serbian media in recent weeks.
The opposition has claimed that elections are needed because the Progressive-led government has devastated the country.
However public opinion surveys have suggested that an early vote would only strengthen the ruling party’s grip.
The coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party won 158 of 250 seats in parliament in the last election in March 2014 and formed a government with a coalition of parties led by the Socialist Party.
A survey conducted in October 2015 by Ipsos Strategic Marketing suggested that the Progressive Party would win 45.8 per cent of the vote if a new poll was held immediately.
The Socialist Party would have 10.4 per cent the Democratic Party 9.4 and the Serbian Radical Party 5.8 per cent the survey suggested.
ByMarija Ristic
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