The mayor of Novi Sad, Milan Đurić, remains in that position, since 25 councilors voted for his dismissal at the session, while 48 voted against it.
The opposition parties in the Assembly of Novi Sad submitted a request to schedule an extraordinary session of the parliament a little more than two weeks ago, with the explanation that both Đurić and his predecessor, the current Prime Minister of Serbia Miloš Vučević, had enough time to "feel moral responsibility and resign" due to the tragedy in that city when 1 people were killed and two were seriously injured when a canopy collapsed on November 15.
After the vote, councilor of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Maja Mrnuštik, asked to see the election materials because the ruling coalition does not have 48 councilors, but she was not granted access, Beta reported.
Voting was not conducted electronically, but secretly, on ballots that were inserted into the box.
During the voting, the opposition and government councilors clashed, after which the President of the Assembly Dina Vučinić said that the Bravo Movement councilor Miran Pogačar attacked the mayor, while the opposition councilors claimed that it was a lie.
Voting continued after that, but there was a fight again when Pokreta Bravo councilor Petar Holik stuck a sticker with a bloody fist on the ballot box, which caused him to be briefly pushed out of the hall.
During the session, hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the town hall and made noise by blowing whistles and vuvuzelas and beating drums. Citizens tried to enter the building at one point, which led to incidents when they were confronted by police officers in riot gear.
The Novi Sad opposition assessed that "the regime of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić", by the vote of confidence in Đurić, has once again shown that it does not accept responsibility for the tragedy.
As stated in the announcement, instead, the councilors of the majority showed that not only the mayor, but also they, have no morals and that they protect those who have objective political responsibility "for a tragedy that Novi Sad does not remember since the Second World War".
It is added that because of all this and the fact that tens of thousands of Novi Sad citizens clearly expressed their will "at the largest meeting ever held in Novi Sad", they believe that the Assembly of that city has lost its legitimacy and that it cannot represent the interests of the citizens of Novi Sad in the future.
SNS councilors claim that what the opposition is doing is ordinary spin, that there is no possibility of establishing the mayor's responsibility, and accuse them of abusing the tragedy.
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