The election of the new Council of REM is in its final phase – disputes regarding the transparency and legality of the process.

The proposals for candidates currently under parliamentary procedure have been submitted by various bodies – from universities and the church to professional associations. Special attention has been drawn to the inclusion of new proposers at the last moment.

Journalist and former member of the REM Council, Višnja Aranđelović, assesses that, although the public had access to information about the candidates and proposers, the process itself was unusual and burdened with withdrawals and interruptions of the competition.

"The public had enough information – we knew who the proposers and candidates were, we also heard those who contested the right of certain proposers to participate, as well as counterarguments. However, the process was unusual. The competition was announced, then certain candidates withdrew, after which the competition was suspended. Then a new competition was announced, but again some candidates announced their withdrawal. At that point, the OSCE intervened as a force that resolves the matter. Now we are at the end, and as I hear, next week, that is, in the first part of November, we may have a new REM Council – exactly one year since this body ceased to operate," says Aranđelović.

Konstantinović: Issues with Transparency and Changes in Procedure

Lawyer for the Association of Journalists of Serbia, Gordana Konstantinović, states that the process was not transparent and that changes were made at the last moment that are not in accordance with the law.

"This process was not transparent, it had changes at the photo finish contrary to the provisions of the law. Specifically, this last vote within the group for national minorities, where the proposers are the Councils of national minorities," notes Konstantinović.

She explains that on July 2, which was later confirmed at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee, a report on authorized proposers and candidates in seven categories was adopted, including the national councils of national minorities that had three candidates.

"In mid-October, a report was adopted that covered seven categories of authorized proposers and candidates. Among those categories were the national councils of national minorities, of which three councils were authorized proposers and each had one candidate. The problem arose when representatives were invited to agree on the positions regarding those three candidates, while in the meantime, another nine authorized proposers appeared who did not participate in the process. And we come to the point that you can vote on something where you did not exercise your right to propose a candidate," adds Konstantinović.

She explains that only three national councils exercised their right to propose their candidates in the process.

"So, the national councils had the right to participate in the process and to nominate their representatives. Three national councils exercised that right, the others did not. Therefore, if you did not participate in the process, you cannot express your opinion on candidates from other national councils. And that is the problem, and it is not in the spirit of the law. That is an abuse of the law. The norm is clear. Authorized proposers who have nominated their candidates agree around the candidates," emphasizes Konstantinović.

She notes that they have already sent an open letter to the President of the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Committee seeking correction of the illegalities, but warns that they do not have a formal right to appeal and are left to the goodwill of the authorities.

"Yesterday, we, together with other associations, or part of associations and organizations, sent an open letter to the President of the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Committee, asking them to try to rectify this illegality, and it is not the first. The problem is that you do not have appropriate legal mechanisms. Within the law, we write appeals, but the law does not grant the right to appeals. We communicate with the Parliamentary Committee under the guise of openness and transparency, where essentially the Parliamentary Committee has absolutely the right not to respond to the appeal that UNS specifically addressed. Because it is not stipulated anywhere that we, not only UNS, but anyone, has the right to appeal. And we interpreted that later as a sign of goodwill," emphasizes Konstantinović.

Aranđelović: The Importance of the Majority in REM for the Control of Public Services

Journalist and former member of the REM Council, Višnja Aranđelović, explains that the problem with the REM Council is part of a political narrative that has been ongoing since 2014. She emphasizes that REM plays an important role because it elects the management boards of public services, which then choose directors and key editors. Therefore, she says, it is crucial who will have the majority in REM.

"REM elects the management boards of public services, the public service of Serbia and the Vojvodina public service, and the management board again elects directors and all important editors. Therefore, I think it is important who will have the majority," explains Aranđelović.

When asked about the pressures from the European Union, Aranđelović states that, although Brussels wants an independent REM, in fact, it wants a body independent from Belgrade, not from itself.

Demand for a Legal and Transparent Election of Members of the REM Council

Lawyer for the Association of Journalists of Serbia, Gordana Konstantinović, emphasizes that the most important thing is that members be elected solely in accordance with the law, regardless of external pressures or personal sympathies.

"I do not know what Brussels wants, but I want REM where the members of the council are elected solely based on the law and in accordance with the law. Regardless of whether I personally like someone or not. That is absolutely irrelevant if they meet the legal requirements, if the process is conducted in accordance with the law," points out Konstantinović.

According to her, politics is inevitably involved in the entire process.

"Politics is involved, and that is evident if the Parliamentary Committee is willing to deviate from everything that has been agreed upon, promised, and adopted, including with Brussels, and again violate the law, then it is clear that it is a matter of politics," concluded Konstantinović.

Source: RTS