Jelena Jerinić, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences from the ranks of the Green-Left Front, explains to "Vreme" that the method of changing the electoral will applied by the Serbian Progressive Party after the local elections held on June 2 is much more complex than what Slobodan Milošević did in 1996, and points out to believe that there is strength and desire among citizens to defend the election results at the local level
Member of Parliament of the Green-Left Front (ZLF) Jelena Jerinić he says in an interview with "Vreme" that they are ongoing complaint procedures after the elections were submitted in many municipalities in Serbia after the elections that were held on June 2.
According to the opposition's preliminary results, which include all election seats, the opposition then, among other things, won in New Belgrade, with 25 mandates, which were won by the lists Kreni-promeni and Biramo Novi Beograd, while SNS won 24 mandates.
"We also have evidence that the minutes were corrected during the night." We have a video recording of the correction of the minutes, and also that the Municipal Election Commission held a session in the morning after the vote without the presence of members from the opposition. More precisely, they were neither invited nor informed about this session in any way," stated Jerinić at a press conference in front of the Municipal Election Commission in New Belgrade.
She added that they sought insight into numerous municipalities, not only Witch doctor and in New Belgrade, but that these municipalities are in the focus of the public.
As for the objections, they were submitted yesterday by eight in the evening, and there is a deadline to decide on them, explained Jerinić. He says that in New Belgrade they submitted complaints related to the correction of errors, and that the same thing happened in Vračar. At the same time, the election material is being checked, with the requests for inspection already submitted.
A long process
"It is a long-term process, in which we are not given enough time. We are given appointments of three hours each. Practically, with all the delays, it does not allow you to inspect a sufficient number of polling stations. This insight implies that nothing can be recorded, photographed, or recorded in any other way," explained the ZLF MP.
To the question that is always asked after every election, whether she expects the state institutions to do their job, she says that it is their duty as participants in the election process to use all the means at their disposal and to reveal all irregularities.
"And it's up to the institutions to react," says Jelena Jerinić. As a lawyer, I always have expectations that they will react. Whether they will actually do it, I cannot say. Ultimately, it's all about responsibility. Maybe all these things cannot influence the election process itself, but for me it is very important that the public should know who and how they participated in the election theft. And as the elections are held at lower levels, it shows that that circle of people is expanding more and more".
What do institutions do?
They have information, he says, that in New Belgrade, while they are waiting for inspection, things have been changed in some of the bags with election materials, which is, of course, prohibited by law and constitutes a criminal offense. The question is what they will be able to find when looking at the voting materials, when they are finally able to do so.
Reminder of election theft in 1996
"I often hear from politicians that there is apathy among citizens, that people are listless, but I cannot believe it and cannot use those words. That's why I think that the people who came to these elections care about the will of the people and the results, that they care that someone they voted for fights for those votes in every way. At the end of the day, I think that the reaction of the citizens will depend on what we discover and publish," says Jerinić.
And without popular awakening, change will not happen. She believes that people are ready to react and that this was seen during the election day, that the situation in Niš also shows.
Many people compare these current election frauds to those of 1996, but it was different then, explained our interlocutor, the theft was much less sophisticated. It is true that there are similarities with these redactions of election records and the like, but "theft carried out by SNS is far more complex."
The whole system is involved in theft
"The Serbian Progressive Party engaged the entire system. Starting with the election laws that were literally rewritten in 2022, leaving certain possibilities for such a thing. We experienced something similar in the December elections, so the whole case reached the Constitutional Court," says Jelena Jerinić.
I remind you that now the international factor is different, because back then the involvement of international actors was more intense. In the end, it all ended with some kind of mediation and a special law that was passed. After that, the opposition came to power in some cities".
What does the return of the Go-Change mandate mean?
Regarding the decision of Sava Manojlović's list "I am Belgrade" to restore mandates in the assemblies of Belgrade and the Municipality of Novi Beograd, she says that question about withdrawal of mandate also appeared after the December elections.
"As far as I could hear, this does not mean that they will resign, and the only thing that was mentioned is that they will not take councilor compensation, which is negligible in the case of city municipalities, and that they will not participate in the work of assemblies," says Jerenić. "What we don't know is whether they're going to take funding from the budget, which goes unrelated to these councilor fees."
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