The constitutive session of the Assembly of Serbia, where the mandates of the deputies of the new parliamentary convocation were confirmed, took place with whistles from the opposition.
The opposition MPs were in front of the podium with banners that read "You stole the elections" and "Thieves return the mandates".
The pro-European opposition list "Serbia against violence" claims that the December elections were irregular, which the government rejects.
Due to allegations of election theft, part of the opposition took the oath in the hall of the parliament and not in the hall.
The coalition "Serbia against violence" said that they did not want to take the oath with people who gained mandates by "stealing elections".
Before them, the deputies of the right-wing coalition "Hope" consisting of the New Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS) did it.
Members of the government displayed a banner in the gallery that read "Dosov rascals, if you want to rob Serbia again, you won't be able to."
DOS (Democratic Opposition of Serbia) came to power in 2000 when the regime of the then president of the SR Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević, was defeated. Part of the parties that made up DOS is in today's opposition.
The constituent session of the Assembly of Serbia lasted about half an hour. During that time, mandates were only confirmed and deputies took the oath. The chairman announced that they will be informed about the continuation of the session.
In the continuation of the first session, which does not have to be on the same day, the deputies should elect the president and vice-presidents of the parliament, appoint the general secretary, elect members of working bodies, as well as members of permanent parliamentary delegations in international institutions.
"Serbia against violence": Today's interruption of the session is our victory
Radomir Lazović, deputy of the "Serbia against violence" coalition, assessed that the suspension of the constitutive session was a "victory" for the opposition.
He assessed that "the most brutal election theft" took place in Serbia and said that the opposition is protesting because of it.
"We demand the annulment of the election and a repeat under fair and electoral conditions," he said.
Marinika Tepić, an MP from this list, stated in the hall of the parliament that the police in the hall prevented the opposition from raising their slogans and thus protesting against the way the elections were held.
"At least 40 policemen stood in a cordon and prevented us from moving around the hall... This is the party police who are above the law. All police employees who presented themselves as security have put themselves in the service of the party," she said.
SNS: You could see the true face of all the deputies
MP of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Miloš Vučević said in the hall of parliament that everyone could see the "real face" of all MPs.
Vucevic, who is also the leader of the progressives, said that the institutions will work.
Who got mandates?
The first session was chaired by the oldest MP, the mathematician Stojan Radenović from the list "Aleksandar Vučić - Serbia must not stand still", who was assisted by the four youngest MPs and the Secretary General of the National Assembly.
In the extraordinary December elections, mandates were won by 10 electoral lists, five of which are minority.
The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) with its coalition partners will have a majority in the parliament.
Her electoral list "Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia must not stand still" won 129 out of 250 mandates. 126 mandates are required for a majority in the parliament.
The second strongest is the opposition coalition "Serbia against violence" with 65 mandates.
The election list "Ivica Dacic – Prime Minister of Serbia" with 18 mandates follows, and the right-wing coalition "Nada" and the right-wing and pro-Russian list "We – Voice of the People" will have 13 deputies each.
Of the minority parties, the Party of Vojvodina Hungarians won six mandates.
For two mandates each, they will have the electoral lists of Usama Zukorlić and the Party of Democratic Action, while for one mandate each they will have the electoral lists of "The Political Struggle of Albanians Continues" and the Russian Party.
Youth performance: Cabbage for power
Before the start of the constitutive session, a group of young people "Sviće" gathered in front of the parliament to greet the deputies and tell them what they thought about the "electoral irregularities".
They wore rabbit masks and left cabbage for the MPs, stating that the voter's list is like cabbage.
"We want to encourage society to participate to a greater extent in putting pressure on the institutions and all those responsible in this process," said one of those gathered.
The Assembly of Serbia was constituted two days before the adoption of the resolution of the European Parliament
The constituent session of the Assembly of Serbia is held two days before the scheduled voting of the resolution in the European Parliament on the elections in Serbia. The European Parliament, which had an observation mission at the elections in Serbia, discussed these elections on January 17.
Resolutions of the European Parliament are not binding.
The opposition coalition "Serbia against violence" demanded that the constituent session of the Serbian Parliament be held after February 8, when the members of the European Parliament will declare about the December elections in Serbia.
The reports of domestic and international monitoring organizations, including the mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), indicated that there were electoral irregularities in the elections in Serbia on December 17. The ruling SNS and the state leadership rejected those allegations.
On December 18, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) announced that the elections were marked by irregularities, misuse of public funds, media dominance of the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, negative campaign and spreading of fear.
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