The Hungarian Association of Vojvodina would further strengthen its ability to assert interests, as the election results will also affect Serbian-Hungarian relations.
Serbia will hold an election on Sunday, December 17. It is an early referendum, the threads of which are linked to an event in May, when several people were shot in a school in Belgrade and then in a Serbian settlement. The opposition parties tried to ride out the indignation of the population, kept the government agencies under constant pressure, and blamed them for the spread of violence, even though the shooting had no political background. Demonstrations, protest marches and various movements were organized. This is one of the reasons why early elections were called, but it is also not incidental that the country is about to make serious decisions.
In the near future, for example, a decision will have to be made on how to proceed with the negotiations regarding Kosovo.
But Serbia is under increasing pressure to impose sanctions on Russia. In addition, a number of other crucial or important issues for the future of the country must also be decided.
In focus: inflation, economic growth, Kosovo, EU membership
During the election campaign, inflation, the standard of living, economic growth, the solution of the Kosovo issue, the rapprochement with the European Union, and the possible introduction of sanctions against Russia formed the narrative of the Serbian parties. The Serbian Progressive Party campaigned with the slogan Serbia can't stop - Srbija ne sme da stane - and with the person of Aleksandar Vucic, who currently holds the position of head of state, so he is not actually on the list.
And the slogan "Serbia can't stand still" actually indicates that they want to continue the projects that have just started and the policy that treats the interests of the population and the nation as a primary consideration in the future. This is how the parties stand, according to pollsters.
According to a survey published on Thursday by Ipsos Strategic Marketing, Vucic's party would receive 44.6 percent of the votes, while the largest opposition grouping - Serbia Against Violence - Srbija protiv nazili - Miroslav Miki Aleksić - Marinika Tepić was at 23.6 percent. The Serbian Socialist Party of Socialists led by Dacic – Vucic's coalition partner – can count on 8.7 percent. VMSZ can collect 1.4-1.9 percent of the votes. The VMSZ starts as a minority party, in its case there is no parliamentary threshold, in the case of others it has to jump 3 percent. The participation rate can vary between 54-58 percent.
The stakes are high for the Hungarians as well
As for the representation of the interests of Vojvodina Hungarians in Serbia, there are Hungarians on the lists of several parties. However, the Vojvodina Hungarian Association is the only party that openly undertakes to represent the interests of Vojvodina Hungarians and can show results. In the previous mandate, VMSZ had five republican representatives. As part of the coalition, they got state secretary positions in seven ministries. They also had a strong representation of interests in Vojvodina.
The recently deceased István Pásztor was the president of the provincial parliament. Together with him, the party had a total of 11 provincial representatives and nine provincial officials. All 25 members of the Hungarian National Council, which essentially represents a kind of autonomous body of Vojvodina Hungarians, were selected from the list of the VMSZ. VMSZ also has an EP representative. Andor Deli entered the European Parliament on the list of Fidesz.
The stakes of the elections, from the point of view of Hungarians in Vojvodina, are to at least retain the existing positions, and to strengthen the representation of interests even by gaining even more seats.
However, from the point of view of the VMSZ and the Hungarians there, it is not irrelevant who among the Serbian parties will win the elections. Good cooperation with the Serbian Progressive Party has been achieved in the past and both parties want to continue this cooperation. It cannot be ruled out that together with the representatives of the VMSZ, only President Vucic's party will be able to obtain a majority in the parliament. VMSZ can even be the language of a balance sheet. The experience of the previous voting shows that the VMSZ, which started as a minority party, received about 10,000 votes.
you need a vote to win each seat.
There is a campaign silence in Serbia, which lasts from Friday 0:00 a.m. to Sunday 8:00 p.m., until the polls close. On Thursday evening, the campaign closing event of the VMSZ was held at the town hall in Szatka, attended by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary.
We Hungarians stuck together, but we Serbs and Hungarians also stuck together, and today we can say that there is the best ever cooperation and relationship system between the two countries and the two nations.
- he highlighted at the event.
He also highlighted that the
the Hungarian and Serbian economies have grown together, and one of the foundations of this was the economic development program, the implementation of which seemed completely impossible 15 years ago.
Now, on the other hand, a capital of trust has been created in Serbia between Serbians and Hungarians, which provides the basis for us to count on similar cooperation in the future, he said. – If I had to briefly summarize why it is necessary for as many VMSZ members as possible to sit in the republican and provincial parliaments, then I would summarize our objectives in such a way that we can continue. Everything that has happened so far is only worth something if we continue, if we continue the border developments, the economic development program, and the measures that guarantee the safety of everyday life here do not stop there, the foreign minister pointed out.
Bálint Juhász, the provincial list leader of the VMSZ, emphasized that every election in being a minority is a turning point, because the results achieved are difficult to maintain, perhaps more difficult than to achieve.
Bálint Pásztor, the acting president of the party, stated that they trust that the Hungarian community in Vojvodina will appreciate the work that the VMSZ, led by István Pásztor, has done in the past 17 years in order to make it good to be Hungarian in Vojvodina.
During the campaign period, in the past month and a half, all parties, including the VMSZ, tried to mobilize the most voters. During the campaign, the Hungarians of Vojvodina were assured of their support by several members of the government and other government party politicians, and they were encouraged to exercise their right to vote.
Featured image: AFP
