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Minister calls on national minorities to go to the polls
Belgrade,
24 May 2010
Minister of Human and Minority Rights Svetozar Ciplic said today that at the elections for national councils of national minorities that are scheduled for 6 June, immediate elections will be held for 16 councils, while electoral assemblies will be organised for the national councils of Croats, Macedonians and Slovenians.
Speaking at a press conference at the Serbian government, Ciplic called on national minorities to go to the polls and specified that 436,336 members of national minorities have been registered in the special electoral polls.
Ciplic explained that immediate elections for councils of national minorities are only held when a sufficient number of members of national minorities are registered in the special electoral polls. Electoral assemblies are held when there are not a sufficient number of voters.
The Minister underlined that the fact that 19 national minorities will form its national councils is proof that they have recognised this as a good way for them to realise their rights.
The Minister said that national councils in Serbia are unique when compared to European practice, in terms of competencies they have been granted, as well as in terms of direct elections, which was requested by national minorities.
National councils are a form of minority self-government through which national minorities can protect and improve their rights, especially in the education and culture sectors, the preservation of their national identity, the use of their native tongues and similar, he recalled.
At direct elections, national councils will be elected by 16 national minorities, ie Albanians, the Ashkali, Bosniaks, Bunjevci, Bulgarians, Vlachs, Greeks, Egyptians, Hungarians, Germans, the Roma, Romanians, Ruthenians, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Czechs.
Ciplic explained that immediate elections for councils of national minorities are only held when a sufficient number of members of national minorities are registered in the special electoral polls. Electoral assemblies are held when there are not a sufficient number of voters.
The Minister underlined that the fact that 19 national minorities will form its national councils is proof that they have recognised this as a good way for them to realise their rights.
The Minister said that national councils in Serbia are unique when compared to European practice, in terms of competencies they have been granted, as well as in terms of direct elections, which was requested by national minorities.
National councils are a form of minority self-government through which national minorities can protect and improve their rights, especially in the education and culture sectors, the preservation of their national identity, the use of their native tongues and similar, he recalled.
At direct elections, national councils will be elected by 16 national minorities, ie Albanians, the Ashkali, Bosniaks, Bunjevci, Bulgarians, Vlachs, Greeks, Egyptians, Hungarians, Germans, the Roma, Romanians, Ruthenians, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Czechs.
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