The president of the Socialist People's Party (SNP), Vladimir Joković, said that he would most like one of the young cadres to take over the leadership of the party.
The SNP Statutory Commission session will be held today, and it will consider whether Joković has the right to run for a third consecutive term at the upcoming party congress.
Asked whether he would run for president of the SNP for a third time, Joković said that the decision on that would be made by the statutory commission.
"I can't decide about that, but the party bodies can. I didn't say that I wanted to or didn't want to be the party president," said Joković, appearing on Boje jutra on Vijesti Television.
He added that it could happen that he will no longer be the president of the SNP.
"I am sincerely in favor of one of the young cadres taking over the leadership of the SNP. The SNP has survived many events, and it will survive this one as well," said Joković.
SNP official Dragan Ivanović said that he is against one person running for president of the party for a third time and that this could lead to its split.
Commenting on that statement, Joković said that the SNP statutory commission does not decide whether he or anyone else will be allowed to run or not.
"The Statutory Commission is something like the Constitutional Court in the country, the last instance in the party and interprets the SNP statute. I would not comment too much on any statement because any statement of mine or anyone else's could be interpreted as pressure on the Statutory Commission, which is composed of the most respected lawyers in the SNP. The decision is binding on every member of the party and whatever it is, I will respect it."
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Joković recalled that he was first elected to a four-year term as party president in 2017.
"Some have said and are interpreting the statute that it can be applied retroactively. I was the president of the SNP from 2017 to 2021, when this statutory decision was not valid. And since the 2021 congress, this decision has been introduced, and there are those who interpret that two candidacies are enough and those who say that no legal act can be applied retroactively," said Joković.
He added that he is a "fully accomplished man" and that when he joined the party in 2017, the SNP was in huge debt and without MPs.
"All three left the party at that time... Since then, we have repaid all our debts, returned to the Assembly, and have the youngest parliamentary caucus..."
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