SERBIA

ELECTIONS IN 2007

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Chamber:

Narodna skupstina

Dates of election / renewal (from/to):

21 January 2007

Purpose of elections:

Elections were held for all seats in the National Assembly.

Background and outcome of elections:

The first parliamentary elections since the dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro took place on 21 January 2007. President Boris Tadic had called early elections on 10 November 2006, shortly after the new Constitution was approved by referendum on 28 October.

In the last elections, which took place on 28 December 2003, when the Republic of Serbia was still part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) became the largest party in Parliament by securing 82 of the 250 seats. The centre-right Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), which had won 53 seats, formed a coalition government in March 2004 with the pro-European G17 Plus (34 seats) and the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) - New Serbia (NS) alliance (22 seats). Mr. Boris Tadic, of the centre-left Democrat Party (DS, 37 seats), known for its pro-European Union (EU) stance, was elected as the country's President in June 2004.

A total of 3,799 candidates from 20 political parties and coalitions contested the 2007 elections.

The main campaign issues were the economy, the fight against corruption, accession to the EU and the future status of Kosovo. The new Constitution stipulates that the UN-administered province of Kosovo is "an integral part of the territory of Serbia", although a large proportion of Kosovo's predominantly ethnic Albanian inhabitants have called for independence. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who led the DSS-NS electoral coalition, reaffirmed that the status of Kosovo would be decided by consensus by the newly-elected National Assembly.

The DS pledged to further liberalize the economy and promote cooperation with the international community, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Serbia's accession talks with the EU had been suspended in May 2006 due to its failure to arrest and hand over to the ICTY the Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who has been indicted for war crimes.

The SRS was led by Mr. Tomislav Nikolic, an outspoken critic of Kosovo's independence, the EU and the ICTY. It pledged to provide citizens who had lost their jobs following the independence of Montenegro with a "permanent job", a concept reminiscent of the communist era. Nearly 1 million of Serbia's 9.3 million inhabitants are unemployed.

Small parties representing ethnic minorities (Hungarian, Muslim, Roma and Albanian) also fielded candidates, while Kosovo Albanians were absent from the electoral rolls. They have boycotted elections since the early 1990s.

Overall turnout was 60.57 per cent, with 31.5 per cent of the 31,334 Serbian voters registered abroad voting.

Some 500 international observers monitored the polls. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) concluded that the elections had been generally "free and fair" and were in line with OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards.

The national election commission annulled the results from six polling stations where the number of ballots cast exceeded the number of registered voters. Elections were repeated in these polling stations on 7 and 8 February.

As in 2003, no party secured an absolute majority. The SRS remained the largest party in Parliament, winning 81 seats. The DS came in second with 64 seats. The DSS-NS coalition won 47 seats. The G17 Plus took 19 seats while the Socialist Party of Serbia won 16. For the first time, a disabled person was elected to Parliament.

The newly elected National Assembly held its first session on 14 February 2007.

Despite lengthy negotiations, the SRS was not able to form a government. On 7 May, Mr. Tomislav Nikolic (SRS), known for his radical positions on Kosovo, was elected as Speaker by 142 of the 244 members present.

On 11 May, only four days before the deadline to form a new government, the DS and the DSS reached a new coalition deal, which included Mr. Nikolic's removal. They subsequently submitted a motion to dismiss the Speaker. Mr. Nikolic resigned on 13 May. On 15 May, the new government, also comprising the NS and the G17, was approved by the National Assembly by 133 votes to 106 with five abstentions, only 30 minutes before the midnight deadline.

On 23 May, Mr. Oliver Dulic (DS) was elected as Speaker with 135 votes for, 98 against, and two abstentions.

Note:
1. LDP-GSS-SDU-LSV coalition stands for Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) - Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) - Social Democratic Union (SDU) - League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) coalition.
2. The threshold of five per cent of voters does not apply to the following parties representing ethnic minorities:
Alliance of Vojvodina's Hungarians (SVM) 3
Coalition list for Sandzak Coalition (LZS) 2
Roma Union of Serbia (URS)
Albanian Coalition of Presevo Valley 1
Roma Party (RP) 1

STATISTICS


Round no 1 (21 January 2007): Election results
Number of registered electors		6'652'105
Voters		4'029'286 (60.57%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes



Round no 1: Distribution of votes

Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Serbian Radical Party (SRS)		1'152'105	28.59
Democratic Party (DS)		915'014	22.71
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) - New Serbia (NS) coalition		666'889	16.55
G17 Plus		274'874	6.82
Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)		227'304	5.64
LDP-GSS-SDU-LSV Coalition		214'028	5.31
Alliance of Vojvodina's Hungarians (SVM)		52'458	1.30
Coalition list for Sandzak Coalition (LZS)		33'819	0.84
Roma Union of Serbia (URS)		16'995	0.42
Albanian Coalition of Presevo Valley		16'972	0.42
Roma Party (RP)		14'568	0.36


Round no 1: Distribution of seats

Political Group				Total
Serbian Radical Party (SRS)				81
Democratic Party (DS)				64
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) - New Serbia (NS) coalition				47
G17 Plus				19
Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)				16
LDP-GSS-SDU-LSV Coalition				15
Alliance of Vojvodina's Hungarians (SVM)				3
Coalition list for Sandzak Coalition (LZS)				2
Roma Union of Serbia (URS)				1
Albanian Coalition of Presevo Valley				1
Roma Party (RP)				1

Comments:

Sources:
- http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/
- National Assembly (16.02.2007, 14.02.2008)

Distribution of seats according to sex:

Men:

199

Women:

Percent of women:

20.40

Distribution of seats according to age:


21 to 30 years	12
31 to 40 years	64
41 to 50 years	94
51 to 60 years	65
61 to 70 years	13
Over 70 years	2

Distribution of seats according to profession:

Legal professions		51
Engineers/PC experts		34
Educators		30
Others		29
Economists		27
Medical professions (doctors, dentists, nurses)		25
Scientists and researchers		19
Business/Trade/Industry		12
Media-related professions (journalists/publishers)		11
Liberal professions (including artists, authors) and sports professionals		6
Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers)		6

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