(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic who is also the president of the Serbian Progressive Party SNS will consult the party at the meeting on Sunday about the possibility of holding parliamentary elections in 2016 two years early.
“President Aleksandar Vucic will seek the approval of the Main Committee majority that before the party assembly [of February 13] he has the right to call for an early parliamentary election” the SNS said in a statement.
The debate aboutwhether there will be early parliamentary electionshas been frequent topic in the Serbian media in recent weeks.
The opposition claims that the SNS-led government has devastated the country andelections are needed.
However public opinion surveys have suggested that an early vote would only strengthen the SNS’s grip.
Vucic said at apress conference in Thursdaythat there might be an early vote but added it would only happen if there was no risk to Serbia’s fragile economic recovery.
“That option [early elections] is possible and I’m looking forward to it since there are those who can’t wait to beat this ‘dictatorship’ and ‘censorship’” Vucic said with a smile referring to the country’s opposition parties which are currently politically weak.
“But I still need to think it through since I don’t want to stop economic progress” he added.
The SNS Vice President Igor Mirovic also added to the hints that there could be early polls.
"Honestly I think that most members of the [party’s main] board are for early parliamentary elections but let's leave that discussion to be held on Sunday” Mirovic told B92 TV on Thursday.
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.