Serbian local elections, 2008
Encyclopedia
Local elections were held in Serbia
on 11 May 2008. According to the Constitutional Law
adopted by the National Assembly on 30 September 2006 that proclaimed the new constitution
, the parliamentary Speaker
(at that time Oliver Dulić
from DS
) had to schedule the elections for local administrative units by 31 December 2007. He scheduled them on 2007-12-29. Following the official breakdown of the government on 8 March 2008, early parliamentary elections
were held on the same date. A revote was held in three polling stations in Belgrade on 18 May 2008 due to irregularities in the electoral process.
Negotiations between the ruling parties, the President's DS and the Premier's DSS, were trying to enact a compromise on the date of the election. Tadić's Democratic Party wanted to respect the constitutional law, wanting to schedule the election by the end of year and hold it in March 2008, which is DSS's demand because of the solution of the status of Kosovo. G17 Plus
wanted the Mayors and municipal Presidents to be elected directly as in the past, but the Democratic Party wanted them to be elected by the local parliaments.
Four laws necessary for the local elections (on territorial organisation, the capital, local elections and local self-government) were passed before the elections.
Ever since the death of Belgrade Mayor Nenad Bogdanović
the Serbian Radical Party has demanded parliamentary Speaker Oliver Dulic to schedule a Mayoral election, however Dulić said that the Constitutional Law mandated him to schedule general local elections simultaneously.
The new Law of Belgrade foresaw a Mayor elected from the City Parliament.
In areas geographically comprising Sandžak
, the Sandžak Democratic Party
and Democratic Party
ran in local elections together. The European Coalition of DS, G17+ and SPO ran in all Municipalities and Cities, except in Niš
, where G17+ had been part of ruling coalition for the last years and where DS was running against them. The "Serb List" political of SRS, DSS, NS, SPS and several nationalist civic groups and organizations had been formed and ran in most of Vojvodina locally.
My Serbia of Branislav Lečić
ran individually in local elections. Mayor of Novi Sad
and former Radical Maja Gojković
ran in the City with her civic group "For Our Novi Sad".
According to UNSC R1244 and UNMIK practice Serbian national referendums and elections for Parliament and President are allowed in Kosovo, but local elections
are organized separately by UNMIK and the PISG
. Despite of this Serbia accomplished the local elections in Kosovo 2008 that were not recognized by UNMIK.
For a European Serbia
won 30 out of 78 seats in city parliament. They are likely to form a coalition with Together for Vojvodina
, which won 9 seats. Hungarian Coalition, with 1 seat is to complete a new ruling coalition in Novi Sad, to end a 4 year rule by Serbian Radical Party
, which won 26 seats, and Democratic Party of Serbia
/New Serbia
, now down to 5 seats. Civic group of former mayor Maja Gojković
won 7 seats, to complete distribution of seats in City parliament of Novi Sad.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on 11 May 2008. According to the Constitutional Law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
adopted by the National Assembly on 30 September 2006 that proclaimed the new constitution
Constitution of Serbia
The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia is Serbia's fundamental law. The current constitution was approved in a constitutional referendum, held from on 28–29 October 2006...
, the parliamentary Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
(at that time Oliver Dulić
Oliver Dulic
Oliver Dulić is a Serbian politician, long-time member of Democratic Party, and former President of the National Assembly of Serbia between 2007 and 2008...
from DS
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
) had to schedule the elections for local administrative units by 31 December 2007. He scheduled them on 2007-12-29. Following the official breakdown of the government on 8 March 2008, early parliamentary elections
Serbian parliamentary election, 2008
A pre-term parliamentary election was held in the Serbia on 11 May 2008, barely a year after the previous parliamentary election. There were 6,749,886 eligible electors who were able to vote in 8,682 voting places, as well as 157 special voting places designed for refugees from...
were held on the same date. A revote was held in three polling stations in Belgrade on 18 May 2008 due to irregularities in the electoral process.
Negotiations between the ruling parties, the President's DS and the Premier's DSS, were trying to enact a compromise on the date of the election. Tadić's Democratic Party wanted to respect the constitutional law, wanting to schedule the election by the end of year and hold it in March 2008, which is DSS's demand because of the solution of the status of Kosovo. G17 Plus
G17 Plus
G17 Plus , abbreviated to G17+, is a centre-right political party in Serbia. With 22 seats in the National Assembly, it is the third-largest party, and currently participates in a coalition with, amongst others, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party...
wanted the Mayors and municipal Presidents to be elected directly as in the past, but the Democratic Party wanted them to be elected by the local parliaments.
Four laws necessary for the local elections (on territorial organisation, the capital, local elections and local self-government) were passed before the elections.
Ever since the death of Belgrade Mayor Nenad Bogdanović
Nenad Bogdanovic
Nenad Bogdanović was the mayor of Belgrade, elected to office in October 2004.-Education and career:...
the Serbian Radical Party has demanded parliamentary Speaker Oliver Dulic to schedule a Mayoral election, however Dulić said that the Constitutional Law mandated him to schedule general local elections simultaneously.
The new Law of Belgrade foresaw a Mayor elected from the City Parliament.
In areas geographically comprising Sandžak
Sandžak
Sandžak also known as Raška is a historical region lying along the border between Serbia and Montenegro...
, the Sandžak Democratic Party
Sandžak Democratic Party
The Sandžak Democratic Party was a political party founded in Serbia in 1995....
and Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
ran in local elections together. The European Coalition of DS, G17+ and SPO ran in all Municipalities and Cities, except in Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
, where G17+ had been part of ruling coalition for the last years and where DS was running against them. The "Serb List" political of SRS, DSS, NS, SPS and several nationalist civic groups and organizations had been formed and ran in most of Vojvodina locally.
My Serbia of Branislav Lečić
Branislav Lecic
Branislav Lečić is a Serbian actor, and politician. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts of the University of Belgrade as an actor in 1978...
ran individually in local elections. Mayor of Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
and former Radical Maja Gojković
Maja Gojkovic
Maja Gojković is the previous mayor of the city of Novi Sad, capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, in Serbia and a councillor in the Parliament of Novi Sad as a representative of the People's Party, previously also known as the "Grupa građana - Maja Gojković"...
ran in the City with her civic group "For Our Novi Sad".
According to UNSC R1244 and UNMIK practice Serbian national referendums and elections for Parliament and President are allowed in Kosovo, but local elections
Elections in Kosovo
Parliamentary elections to the Assembly of Kosovo have been held three times since 1999 with the latest in November 2007. The Assembly is an institution within the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government established by the United Nations administration in Kosovo to provide 'provisional,...
are organized separately by UNMIK and the PISG
Pisg
pisg, short for Perl IRC Statistics Generator is a popular open-source Internet Relay Chat log file analysis and statistical visualization program. It is written in perl by Morten Brix Pedersen. It analyzes various formats of log files from IRC clients and bots and generates HTML pages containing...
. Despite of this Serbia accomplished the local elections in Kosovo 2008 that were not recognized by UNMIK.
Belgrade
- For a European Belgrade – Boris TadićBoris TadicBoris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
(За европски Београд – Борис Тадић) - DSSDemocratic Party of SerbiaThe Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
– New SerbiaNew SerbiaNew Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
– Vojislav KoštunicaVojislav KoštunicaVojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
(ДСС – Нова Србија – Војислав Коштуница) - Liberal Democratic Party – Čedomir JovanovićCedomir JovanovicČedomir "Čeda" Jovanović is a Serbian politician and president of the Liberal Democratic Party .- Early life :...
(Либерално демократска партија – Чедомир Јовановић) - Serbian Radical PartySerbian Radical PartyThe Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
– Tomislav NikolićTomislav NikolicTomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
(Српска радикална странка – Томислав Николић) - Socialist Party of SerbiaSocialist Party of SerbiaThe Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(SPS) – Party of United Pensioners of SerbiaParty of United Pensioners of SerbiaThe Party of United Pensioners of Serbia is a political party in Serbia. Party leader is Jovan Krkobabić. The party took part in 2007 parliamentary election in coalition with the Social Democratic Party and won no seats...
(PUPS) – United SerbiaUnited SerbiaUnited Serbia is a political party in Serbia, centered in Jagodina. It was previously a close ally of New Serbia, and was a member of its coalition with the Democratic Party of Serbia....
(JS) (Социјалистичка партија Србије (СПС) – Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС) – Јединствена Србија (ЈС)) - Serbian Strength MovementSerbian Strength MovementThe Strength of Serbia Movement is a political party in Serbia led by Bogoljub Karić. He finished third in the 2004 presidential elections....
– Bogoljub KarićBogoljub KaricBogoljub Karić ) is a businessman and politician from Serbia.- Early life :Bogoljub Karić was born on January 17, 1954 in Peć, Kosovo, Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia, to Janićije Karić and Danica Kuzmanović. He earned a degree in Geography from Prirodno-matematički fakultet in Priština and his Master's...
(Покрет снага Србије – Богољуб Карић)
Novi Sad
For a European Serbia
For a European Serbia – Boris Tadić is an electoral coalition that won the Serbian parliamentary election, 2008, Vojvodina parliamentary election, 2008 and Serbian local elections, 2008...
won 30 out of 78 seats in city parliament. They are likely to form a coalition with Together for Vojvodina
Together for Vojvodina
Together for Vojvodina was a political coalition in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. At the latest legislative elections in Vojvodina, in September 2004, the alliance won 9.44 % of the popular vote, and 7 seats in the provincial parliament...
, which won 9 seats. Hungarian Coalition, with 1 seat is to complete a new ruling coalition in Novi Sad, to end a 4 year rule by Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
, which won 26 seats, and Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
/New Serbia
New Serbia
New Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
, now down to 5 seats. Civic group of former mayor Maja Gojković
Maja Gojkovic
Maja Gojković is the previous mayor of the city of Novi Sad, capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, in Serbia and a councillor in the Parliament of Novi Sad as a representative of the People's Party, previously also known as the "Grupa građana - Maja Gojković"...
won 7 seats, to complete distribution of seats in City parliament of Novi Sad.