Speaking about the constitutive session of the REM Council where the president of this body was not elected, Mirković says that this was, in a way, an expected scenario.

"It was known that it would be very difficult to constitute the REM Council, to elect a president, a chairwoman, or a deputy chair, and we are already seeing some indications that there might be some agreement or consensus. However, on the other hand, in such a divided society, it is hard to expect that the constitution of such a body, which has not functioned for 20 months, can proceed differently," explains our interlocutor.

He also reminds us that in the two decades since the establishment of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media REM, formerly known as RRA, it has never happened that the Council of this body did not exist for as long as 20 months.

The result of this, as he says, is precisely these tensions, especially when news comes that the Assembly will discuss a proposal for the dissolution of the Government on Monday.

"Elections are approaching elections, and the REM Council, or REM, plays a very important role in that context. This is why the temperatures are heightened, even beyond normal," adds Mirković.

He notes that, no matter how much the members of the REM Council claim to be the owners of their mandates and make independent decisions, it is completely clear that there is a line of division among the eight of them.

"And regardless of how much they say that the discussion among them yesterday was constructive, I am not sure that it will be easy. Similarly, even if they reach some agreement, whatever it may be, I am sure that the public will also react in a divided manner. Some will welcome it, while others will continue to contest it, but this is a result of the divisions that exist in our society," he assesses.

Election with a makeshift Council

He believes it is better to enter the election campaign with a makeshift REM Council than with the fact that the REM Council does not exist.

"The existence of the REM Council does not guarantee that we will have even a minimally fair situation in the media sphere. Let me just tell you that the last time, during the elections in December 2023, the monitoring results conducted by REM, or the REM Council, were published 14 months later. This means that there must be political will, because it may happen that the REM Council is constituted, and it can happen that the decisions made will be undisputed, but the problem will be who will actually implement them. Is there political will, are there bodies and institutions that will carry out what is stipulated by the Law on Electronic Media?" he emphasizes.

Source: N1