Anna Brnabyq elected head of Serbia's Parliament

Former prime minister and Serbian Progressive Party official (SNS) in power, Ana Brnabiq, has been elected head of Serbia's Parliament on Wednesday.

Out of 158 deputies present in the hall, 153 voted for, while five opposed its appointment.

Ana Brnabiq was nominated by the SNS, a party which, along with its partners on its election list, has a majority of 129 out of 250 seats in the Assembly.

The proposal for Brnabyk to be elected Speaker of the Parliament was conveyed with a three-day debate, which was characterised with insults and shouting at MPs.

During the debate, opposition deputies criticised the Government's proposal for the election of Brnabiqi to the head of the Parliament.

Opposition MP from the National Movement of Serbia, Borislav Novakovic, said the Speaker of the Assembly should be moderate and show calm during the session.

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“I think Mrs. Brnabyq, you must work on your vocabulary”, he added.

SNS leader and Defence Minister at Serbia's Technical Governance Milos Vuchevic has named Novakovijqi, as the media report reports, the biggest criminal in Novi Sad”, claiming he has <x2-year-old” ahead of the state budget.

“Zvoanko Veselinovic is an example of honesty for you”, Vuchev said.

At the end of 2021, the U.S. Department of Finance named Zvonko Veselinovic as leader of an organised criminal group and as one of the most notorious corrupt figures in Kosovo and subsequently placed him on the list of sanctions.

The head of the ruling party's parliamentary group, Milenko Jovanov, said the opposition list “Serbia against violence” divides people and imitates the elite.

You're an elite like I'm an astronaut. Well, you're such an elite”, Jovanov said.

Brnabiq said the opposition has demanded from the European Parliament “to abolish Serbia's sovereignty and the” Assembly. She said the European Parliament will not be above the Serbian parliament.

The “did not suffice for an EP resolution, which you brought yourself and which requires the removal of Serbia's sovereignty, so the EP can suspend our laws. And, it wasn't enough for you that shame, you're threatening us with a new EP resolution”, Brnabyq said.

On 8 February, the European Parliament (PE) adopted a resolution demanding an international investigation into irregularities in the December elections and the suspension of EU finances for Serbia in case authorities have carried out election fraud.

The opposition coalition Serbia against violence had demanded that Serbia's constitutional and Assembly sessions be held after February 8th, when MEPs will announce December elections in Serbia.

Reports of local and international monitoring organisations, including the Organisation for Security and Co-operation mission in Europe (OSBE), showed there were electoral irregularities in the December 17th elections in Serbia. The ruling SNS and state leadership have dismissed these charges.

On December 18th, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) announced that the elections were carried out with irregularities, misuse of public funds, media dominance by State President Aleksandar Vuciq, negative campaigns and widespread fears.

Parliament's constitutional hearing began on February 6th, when MPs' mandates were verified. The opposition MPs then took the oath in the hall.

The constitutional hearing continued on March 18. / REL