Little chance that the Board will complete its work by December 18

Due to mutual mistrust and obstructions, the Committee for Comprehensive Reform of Electoral and Other Legislation will find it difficult to complete its work before the deadline for electoral reforms. The negative result of the Committee could be additionally affected by the announcement of some of the associated members that they will leave that parliamentary body after December 18, when the deadline for proposing changes to the law was set.

Associate member of the Committee from the civil sector, Boris Raonic, said that he will remain in that parliamentary body as long as there is a chance for the reforms to be completed.

"Due to a very bad atmosphere of mistrust, it is unlikely that the Board will be able to complete its work in these ten days, even though many legal solutions have been crystallized. That is why at this stage it is important that the European Union (EU) acts more proactively, so as not to end up in a situation where so much time and energy is wasted. Besides, I don't see what the election process would look like if this work is not completed. The Civic Alliance will be part of the board as long as there is a chance for this process and as long as we can contribute to the process with our partners," said Raonic.

Associate member of the Board Đorđe Blažić said at the session on Wednesday that representatives of the academic community will leave the board after December 18 and called on the deputies to get serious and finish the work for which they were elected. And his colleague from the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), Dragan Koprivica, previously announced that he would not participate in the work after the deadline for reforms.

On Wednesday, the committee was supposed to consider the reports of the working subcommittees and define a list of legal amendments that can be adopted. The President of the Committee Branimir Gvozdenović then announced that consultations with OSCE experts should be held next week, and it was planned to adopt the changes to the Law on Territorial Organization that were previously proposed by the opposition. However, the session was postponed due to Gvozdenović's refusal to include on the agenda the request of Democrats and independent MP Neđeljko Rudović to form a new working committee and determine the deadline for the codification of the electoral legislation into the Election Code. Gvozdenović and representatives of the Democrats then accused each other of obstructing the committee's work.

The general secretary of the Democrats, Boris Bogdanović, claims that its representatives have completed the complete work of proposing solutions that should lead to a fundamental reform of the electoral and other legislation.

"Until this moment, we have submitted over 200 solutions that were worked on by recognized lawyers and experts. We have prepared, among other things, the draft law on the election of councilors and deputies, the law on the voter list, the law on the register of residence and place of residence, the law on the financing of political entities and election campaigns, as well as the law on territorial organization. "Together with Demos and Rudović, we have prepared a draft law on the Government, which envisages a civil unity government as a systemic solution, as well as a proposal for a set of media laws," he told "Vijesta".

Previously, it was planned that the working sub-committees would submit proposals to the Board by December 9, after which a vote would be taken on the changes that should be submitted to the Assembly. The decision on the establishment of the Committee stipulates that at sessions attended by 11 out of 14 members, amendments to the law will be decided by consensus. The proposal for changes can be submitted to the Assembly even when there is no consensus, but there is support from the members of the Committee, which guarantees a four-fifths majority at the plenum.

While the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) did not answer the question of whether the Committee can complete the work within the deadline, Boris Mugoša, a member of the Committee from the Social Democrats (SD), said that there is a chance that the reforms will be completed.

"I believe we can finish the job. If we are all sincere in our intention to improve the election environment in accordance with international standards and practice, that is, the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR", said Mugoša to "Vijesta".

Bogdanović: DPS prepares obstruction with identity issues

Bogdanović warned that at the moment there is no formalized solution of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) before the Committee.

"DPS is waiting for the opposition to submit complete solutions in order to rewrite them and present them as their own, in the same way as they did with my amendments. The work can easily be completed by the scheduled deadline, because the opposition has fully completed its obligations. Now we are looking to see what the requests and demands of the DPS are. If they have suggestions, let them submit them, and I responsibly claim that they don't have any. This is followed by obstruction directed by DPS and the introduction into the game of those with whom they can trade. Now we will have the task of putting various laws on identity issues into the procedure, and then withdrawing them, until someone issues them", said Bogdanović.