Rakočević elected as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament

Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MP Nikola Rakočević is the new Deputy Speaker of the Parliament from the opposition.

54 MPs voted for him, one against, while five ballots were invalid.

Rakočević was nominated for the position by his parent party.

The head of the DPS parliamentary group, Andrija Nikolić, read his biography.

Democratic MP Momčilo Leković said that the opposition did not vote for the appointment of his party colleague Zdenka Popović as vice president at the end of 2023, and that they will therefore not vote for Rakočević's appointment, but that they "have nothing personal" against him.

The president of the Bosniak Party (BS) parliamentary group, Amer Smailović, said that it was good that the opposition proposed a candidate for vice president, but that it was strange that they were doing so halfway through the parliament's mandate.

"BS will certainly support Mr. Rakočević as vice president. We will not walk out of the hall like when Mr. (Mirsad) Nurković was elected," he stressed.

The leader and MP of the Croatian Civic Initiative, Adrijan Vuksanović, announced that he would also vote in favor.

The head of the Europe Now Movement (PES) parliamentary group, Vasilije Čarapić, said that the deputy speaker of the Assembly from the opposition is provided for by the rules of procedure, and that he will support the DPS candidate "as long as he is from the opposition."

Leader and MP of the Democratic People's Party (DNP), Milan Knežević, "congratulated his colleagues from the DPS on their maturity."

"What did you need all that a few months ago - the encirclement of President (Andrija) Mandić and the barbaric atmosphere that is distancing us now that we are in the suburbs of Brussels. We do not want to enter the EU without you. You may be the worst, but you are the closest to us," he pointed out.

As he added, they have more reasons to vote against, but they are still a "good-natured, Christian coalition."

"As someone who comes from a Partisan family and who strives for reconciliation between Chetniks and Partisans, I must express my satisfaction that the representatives of the Ravna Gora Movement will be strengthened by the entry of Mr. Rakočević at the chairman's table," he said.

He raised the EU flag and told DPS MPs that he would "have to make them swear on the holy European flag that they will not deviate from the European path", but that he would vote for Rakočević's appointment. Social Democrat (SD) MP Boris Mugoša said that his party would also vote for a DPS MP to be vice-president.

Nikolić thanked "all parties that will vote for Rakočević for their democratic culture," and emphasized that he "leaves it to the public to judge the democratic culture of those who took the opportunity to pay for their vote when voting for the business obligation."