Serbian parliamentary election, 2007

Serbian parliamentary election

2003 ← January 21, 2007 → 2008

All 250 seats to the Narodna skupština   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Tomislav Nikolić (de facto) Boris Tadić Vojislav Koštunica Party SRS DS DSS-NS Last election 82 23 (total list: 37) 57 (DSS: 48 (total list: 53); NS (in coalition): 9) Seats won 81 64 (individually: 60) 47 (DSS: 33; NS: 14 (individually: 10)) Seat change -1 +41 -10 Popular vote 1,153,453 915,854 667,615 Percentage 28.59% 22.71% 16.55%

PM before election Vojislav Koštunica DSS Elected PM Vojislav Koštunica DSS

Serbia

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Serbia

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Parliamentary elections took place in Serbia on 21 January 2007.^[1] The first session of the new National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was held on 14 February 2007.

Parties registering as ethnic minority parties (options 8, 10, 14, 17, 19 and 20) did not need to surpass the 5% threshold to gain seats in the parliament, but instead needed to pass a natural threshold at 0.4%. For the first time in a decade, Albanian parties from the Preševo Valley participated in the elections, but Kosovo Albanian parties continued their boycott of Serbian elections.

6,652,105 voters were eligible to vote, an increase of 14,000 voters when compared to the constitutional referendum held a few months before. 31,370 of the eligible voters were living abroad, and 7,082 were in prison.^[2] Most Kosovo Albanians have not registered to vote.^{[citation needed]} There were 8,441 ballot stations, 58 of which were abroad. Final election results had to be announced by midnight on January 25, 2007.

The d'Hondt method was used to distribute parliamentary mandates following the election. Parties and coalitions had 10 days following the announcement of the final results to decide which candidates will take their alloted seats in parliament. Parties then had three months to negotiate a government.

Party lists

Twenty party lists registered with the electoral commission before the deadline of 2007-01-05:

1. Democratic Party — Boris Tadić (Демократска странка - Борис Тадић)
2. G17 Plus – Mlađan Dinkić (Г17 плус — Млађан Динкић)
3. Liberal Democratic Party–Civic Alliance of Serbia–Social Democratic Union–League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina — Čedomir Jovanović (Либерално демократска партија — Грађански савез Србије — Социјалдемократска унија — Лига социјалдемократа Војводине — Чедомир Јовановић)
4. Serbian Radical Party – Dr Vojislav Šešelj (Српска радикална странка — др Војислав Шешељ)
5. Democratic Party of Serbia–New Serbia — Dr Vojislav Koštunica (Демократска странка Србије — Нова Србија — др Војислав Коштуница)
6. Serbian Strength Movement — Bogoljub Karić (Покрет снага Србије — Богољуб Карић)
7. Serbian Renewal Movement — Vuk Drašković (Српски покрет обнове — Вук Драшковић)
8. Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians — József Kasza (Савез војвођанских Мађара — Јожеф Каса)
9. Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) — Dr Jovan Krkobabić and Social Democratic Party (SDP) — Dr Nebojša Čović (Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС) — Др Јован Кркобабић и Социјалдемократска партија (СДП) — Др Небојша Човић)
10. Coalition List for Sandžak Dr Sulejman Ugljanin (Коалиција Листа за Санџак др Сулејман Угљанин)
11. Socialist Party of Serbia (Социјалистичка партија Србије)
12. Branko Pavlović — "Because it has to be better" (Бранко Павловић — "Зато што мора боље")
13. Coalition "Vojvodina parties" — Mr Igor Kurjački (Коалиција "Војвођанске партије" — мр Игор Курјачки)
14. Roma Union of Serbia — Dr Raјko Đurić (Унија Рома Србије — др Рајко Ђурић)
15. Reformist Party — Dr Aleksandar Višnjić (Реформистичка странка — др Александар Вишњић)
16. Democratic Community of Serbia — Dr Obren Joksimović (Демократска заједница Србије — др Обрен Јоксимовић)
17. Albanian Coalition from Preševo Valley (Коалиција Албанаца Прешевске долине)
18. Social Democracy — Nenad Vukasović (Социјалдемократија — Ненад Вукасовић)
19. Coalition Hungarian Union — Andraš Agošton – Dr Pal Šandor (Коалиција Мађарска слога — Андраш Агоштон – др Пал Шандор)
20. Roma Party — Šajn Srđan (Ромска партија — Шајн Срђан)

Results

The Republican Electoral Commission finally published the final results after the repetition of voting in several places:

e • d Summary of the 21 January 2007 National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia election results

Parties	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Serbian Radical Party — Dr Vojislav Šešelj (Српска радикална странка — др Војислав Шешељ)	1,153,453	28.59	81	–1
Democratic Party — Boris Tadić (Демократска странка — Борис Тадић)	915,854	22.71	64	+41
Democratic Party of Serbia-New Serbia — Dr Vojislav Koštunica (Демократска странка Србије-Нова Србија — др Војислав Коштуница)	667,615	16.55	47	–10
G17 Plus — Mlađan Dinkić (Г17 плус — Млађан Динкић)	275,041	6.82	19	–12
Socialist Party of Serbia (Социјалистичка партија Србије)	227,580	5.64	16	–6
Liberal Democratic Party-Civic Alliance of Serbia-Social Democratic Union-League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina — Čedomir Jovanović (Либерално демократска партија-Грађански савез Србије-Социјалдемократска унија-Лига социјалдемократа Војводине — Чедомир Јовановић)	214,262	5.31	15	+8
Serbian Renewal Movement — Vuk Drašković (Српски покрет обнове — Вук Драшковић)	134,147	3.33	0	–13
Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) — Dr Jovan Krkobabić and Social Democratic Party (SDP) — Dr Nebojša Čović (Партија уједињених пензионера Србије (ПУПС) — Др Јован Кркобабић и Социјалдемократска партија (СДП) — Др Небојша Човић)	125,324	3.11	0	–3
Serbian Strength Movement — Bogoljub Karić (Покрет снага Србије — Богољуб Карић)	70,727	1.75	0	—
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians — József Kasza (Савез војвођанских Мађара — Јожеф Каса)	52,510	1.30	3	+3
Coalition List for Sandžak Dr Sulejman Ugljanin (Коалиција Листа за Санџак др Сулејман Угљанин)	33,823	0.84	2	±0
Roma Union of Serbia — Dr Raјko Đurić (Унија Рома Србије — др Рајко Ђурић)	17,128	0.42	1	+1
Albanian Coalition from Preševo Valley (Коалиција Албанаца Прешевске долине)	16,973	0.42	1	+1
Branko Pavlović — "Because it has to be better" (Бранко Павловић — "Зато што мора боље")	15,722	0.39	0	—
Roma Party — Šajn Srđan (Ромска партија — Шајн Срђан)	14,631	0.36	1	+1
Coalition "Hungarian Union" — András Ágoston — Dr Pál Sándor (Коалиција Мађарска слога — Андраш Агоштон — др Пал Шандор)	12,940	0.32	0	—
Coalition "Vojvodina parties" — Mr Igor Kurjački (Коалиција "Војвођанске партије" — мр Игор Курјачки)	7,359	0.18	0	—
Democratic Community of Serbia — Dr Obren Joksimović (Демократска заједница Србије — др Обрен Јоксимовић)	5,438	0.13	0	—
Social Democracy — Nenad Vukasović (Социјалдемократија — Ненад Вукасовић)	4,909	0.12	0	—
Reformist Party — Dr Aleksandar Višnjić (Реформистичка странка — др Александар Вишњић)	1,881	0.05	0	—
Invalid	65,468	1.66
Total (turnout 60.62%; +1.87)	4,033,586	100.00	250	—

The change figure for the Democratic Party of Serbia/New Serbia list is in comparison to the 2003 result for the Democratic Party of Serbia; New Serbia was aligned to the Serbian Renewal Movement in 2003. The grouping headed by the Liberal Democratic Party is new: the Liberal Democratic Party split off from the Democratic Party in 2005; Civic Alliance of Serbia and the Social Democratic Union were part of the Democratic Party list in 2003; and the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina were in a list with the Alliance of Vojvodina Magyars in 2003. The Coalition List for Sandžak previously stood as part of the Democratic Party list.

Turnout

By 18:00 (17:00 GMT), the Republican Electoral Commission confirmed a figure of 3,427,402 people that have voted in the election, or 51.51% of the total electoral body:

• Vojvodina: 51.65%
• Belgrade: 49.77%

By 19:00 (18:00 GMT), the turnout of registered voters was around 56.7% (around 3,770,000 citizens):

• Belgrade: 55% (830,000)
• Central Serbia: 56.5% (1,900,000)
• Vojvodina: 58.9%
• Kosovo¹: 48.6%

¹ - Note that voter registration by Kosovo Albanians is very low so the turnout figures do not represent the non-registered voters who live in the province.[1]

By 20:00 (19:00 GMT) 4,020,744 people voted which is 60.4%.

International Reaction

• Dutch foreign minister Ben Bot congratulated Boris Tadić with the result, stating "the fact that Mr. Tadić has doubled his position in the parliament is of great importance, since it means that the Serbian people value a "pro-European" course".^[3]
• EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana stated "The majority voted for forces that are democratic and pro-European", continuing "I hope very much there will be a speedy formation of a government that will be on the line of "pro-European" forces."^[3]
• German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said "The radicals got most votes but nevertheless two thirds of the seats in parliament will go to "democratic" forces."^[3]
• Michael C. Polt, US ambassador to Serbia, congratulated Serbian people on results, stating that "the United States looks forward to continuing to work with you and your leadership as your country fulfills the promise of October 2000“.^[4]
• Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg, stated that EU should show support to Serbia, after "democratic" forces won the elections, as NATO did when Serbia was invited to join "Partnership for Peace" despite not cooperating with the ICTY.

^[4]

• Sergey Baburin, Vice-president of the Russian State Duma stated “the parties to form the government will soon hear Martti Ahtisaari’s recommendations for the settlement of the Kosovo issue, and I deem their position unenviable. In my opinion, parties are making a big mistake by not letting Serbian Radicals partake in the government. Patriotic parties in Serbia are getting potentially stronger”.^[4]

Campaign slogans

The parties' campaign slogans for the 2007 election:

	Party	English slogan	Serbian slogan
	Democratic Party	Because life can't wait	Zato što život ne može da čeka Зато што живот не може да чека
	G17 Plus	Expertise before politics	Stručnost ispred politike Стручност испред политике
	Liberal-Democratic Party-Civic Alliance of Serbia-Social Democratic Union-League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina	It depends on us	Od nas zavisi Од нас зависи
	Serbian Radical Party	So that things become better already today	Da već danas bude bolje Да већ данас буде боље
	Democratic Party of Serbia / New Serbia	Long live Serbia	Živela Srbija Живела Србија
	Serbian Strength Movement	Serbia has strength	Srbija ima snage Србија има снаге
	Serbian Renewal Movement	It's worth fighting for	Vredi se boriti Вреди се борити
	Socialist Party of Serbia	Serbia, Chin Up	Srbijo, glavu gore Србијо, главу горе
	Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians	New chance	Nova šansa Új esély (*)
	List for Sandžak	For Sandžak in European Serbia	Za Sandžak u evropskoj Srbiji За Санџак у европској Србији
	Albanian Coalition from Preševo Valley	For better life of Albanians in Preševo Valley	Za bolji život Albanaca u Preševskoj dolini За бољи живот Албанаца у Прешевској долини

(*) This is the slogan in Hungarian language.

List details

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party list also included the Sanjak Democratic Party, the Democratic League of Croats in Vojvodina and the People's Democratic Party of Vojvodina, a Bunjevci political party. Candidates on the list were members of national Councils of the Slovak and Bunjevci national minorities as well. It promised SDP up to six seats, three guaranteed in the election. It proposed members for all 250 seats, with Ružica Đinđić, widow of former Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, as the first, followed by the party's head and President of Serbia Boris Tadić.

The Party for Sanjak supported this list.

DS won 64 seats. It transferred 3 seats to SDP and 1 to DSHV, as per the agreement.

G17+

G17 Plus ran as an independent list led by Mlađan Dinkić, proposing members for all 250 seats. It won 19 seats.

LDP-GSS-SDU-LSV

The Coalition list of the Liberal Democratic Party, Civic Alliance of Serbia, Social Democratic Union and the Social Democratic League of Vojvodina presented a list with all 250 candidates. The list also included prominent intellectuals of the Serbian society, including members of Christian Democratic Party of Serbia. Coalition leader is Čedomir Jovanović.

The coalition won 14 seats. 5 went to LDP, 4 to GSS, 1 to GSS, which together formed a group with 1 from DHSS. LSV formed a separate parliamentary club with its 4 seats

Serbian Radical Party

Serbian Radical Party took part as an independent list led by Vojislav Šešelj and Tomislav Nikolić being the second candidate, presenting 250 candidates. It won 81 seat.

DSS-NS

The "People's Parties Coalition" (Serbian Cyrillic: Народњачка коалиција) of the center-right Democratic Party of Serbia and New Serbia also includes United Serbia and Serbian Democratic Renewal Movement. It presented a list for all 250 candidates, led by Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica.

The coalition won 47 seats. Of them, 33 went to DSS, 10 to NS and 2 to each of SDPO and JS.

Serbian Strength Movement

Serbian Strength Movement (PSS) took part as an independent list led by Milanka Karić, presenting candidates for all 250 seats. It failed to pass the election threshold.

Serbian Renewal Movement

The Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) became a candidate party under on 4 December 2006 at 11:30am after accumulating 17,024 electoral signers. Headed by the temporary Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Drašković, it failed to pass the election threshold.

The list includes a max total of 250 candidates, and includes members of the Serbian List for the Return of Property, People's Peasant Party (of Marijan Rističević), Liberals of Serbia (represented by Radivoje Lazarević and Žarko Jokanović) and the Movement "I live for Krajina". The list's bearer is partial president Vuk Drašković followed by the vice-presidents of the party - Vlajko Senić, Srđan Srećković, Sanja Čeković, Žika Gojković and Mirko Čikiriz.

Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians

The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) took part as an independent minority list led by Jožef Kasa, presenting candidates for all 250 seats of the parliament. It secured 3 seats in the parliament, not having to pass the election threshold.

PUPS-SDP

The Social Democratic Party of Nebojša Čović ran in the election together with the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia of Jovan Krkobabić. The Party of United Pensioners of Serbia was supposed to get the greatest share of the coalition's seats. The Socialist People's Party was on this list as well. Its list included candidates for all 250 seats of the parliament. The coalition failed to pass the election threshold, albeit seemingly satisfied with its results.

List for Sandžak

Coalition List for Sandžak led by Sulejman Ugljanin included:

• Party of Democratic Action of Sanjak
• Bosniac Democratic Party of Sanjak
• Reformist Party of Sanjak
• Social-Liberal Party of Sanjak
• Social Democratic Party of Sanjak

They submitted a list of 25 candidates. It secured its old 2 seats, one of BDSS and other of SLPS, being a minority list.

Socialist Party of Serbia

The Socialist Party of Serbia has the Movement of Veterans of Serbia on its list led by Ivica Dačić. Borka Vučić as a non-partisan is also present.

Vojvodina parties

Coalition "Vojvodina parties" led by Igor Kurjački includes Vojvodina Party, Civic Movement of Vojvodina, Our Vojvodina, Srem Party, Party of small shareholders, pensioners, unemployed and Party of Pensioners and Workers of Serbia.^{[citation needed]}

Roma Union

The list of the Roma Union of Serbia is led by Raјko Đurić and also includes members of the party Vlachs of Democratic Serbia (see Vlachs of Serbia entry).

Albanians from the Preševo Valley

This list is a Coalition of Riza Halimi's Democratic Action Party and Skender Destani's Democratic Union of the Valley, two local ethnic Albanian parties from the Preševo Valley. The other two regional Albanian national minority parties were previously a part of the coalition, but changed their opinions later and called on Preševan Albanians to boycott the elections.

Social Democracy

Social Democracy ran together with the Socialdemocratic Party, the Cultural Movement of Serbia and the Serbian Kosovo-Metohijan Party on its list, headed by Nenad Vukasović.

Hungarian Union

List of the coalition Hungarian Union led by András Ágoston and Pál Sándor also includes Democratic Community of Hungarians of Vojvodina, Democratic Union of Hungarians of Vojvodina and youth movement 64 Counties.

Democratic Community of Serbia

The Democratic Community of Serbia of Dr Obren Joksimović was supported by the Party of the Disabled.

Notes

1. ^ "Serbian President Calls Early Elections". http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/11/bbc5f770-8bb6-47d0-b3fe-a04a8818bf85.html. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
2. ^ "RIK: Radicals lead, followed by Democrats". http://www.b92.net/eng/news/in_focus.php?id=152&start=0&nav_id=38961. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Solana puts brave face on results". CNN. January 22, 2007. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/22/serbia.election.eu.reut/. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b c} "International reactions to election results". B92. January 22, 2007. http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=01&dd=22&nav_category=90&nav_id=39190/. 

External links

• Republican Electoral Commission of the Republic of Serbia