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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia observes Constitutional Charter, pro-European orientation

Belgrade, 5 November 2004

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today that the government has approved a bill on the election of deputies to the Serbia-Montenegrin parliament, which calls for direct elections to be held in February 2005.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica at today's press conference

The bill is in line with the Constitutional Charter of Serbia-Montenegro, signed in March 2002, the Prime Minister noted. The charter, Kostunica explained, stipulates that the first parliamentary elections must be held through an indirect vote, while the second one, to be held next year, has to be a direct one.

The Prime Minister, however, noted that both state union members must pass relevant laws for elections to be held next year, stressing that election laws in both Serbia and Montenegro must stipulate direct election of deputies to the state union parliament.

Serbia-Montenegrin President Svetozar Marovic can call parliamentary elections only after the parliaments of Serbia and Montenegro pass election laws, Kostunica added.

Serbia's election bill describes Serbia as a singe election unit, envisages a five percent election threshold, as well as a threshold rule exception for the election of national minority deputies, he said.

The election law will help further strengthen the state union, Kostunica went on to say, adding that this was also an item on his meeting agenda with European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana in Brussels yesterday.

According to him, the EU and Serbia have different roles in strengthening the state union.

The EU's role is to use its "two-track" formula to allow for overcoming discrepancies in the customs systems of Serbia and Montenegro and to speed up the preparation of a feasibility study for signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. On the other hand, Serbia's role is to strengthen its political institutions by passing a bill, which the government adopted today, Kostunica explained.

Today's adoption of the election bill confirms that Serbia observes the Constitutional Charter and its pro-European orientation, the Prime Minister concluded.