National Assembly President Ivica Dacic calls referendum on changing Serbia's Constitution

President of the National Assembly Ivica Dacic late on Tuesday announced a referendum on changing the Constitution of Serbia. Dacic called a referendum to confirm the Act on the Change of the Constitution after the end of a special session of parliament. The referendum is scheduled to take place on January 16.

At that session, the Draft Act on the Change of the Constitution of Serbia, the Draft Constitutional Law for the Implementation of that Act and the Draft Decision on Calling the Referendum were adopted.

"The referendum will be held on January 16, 2022, from 7 am to 8 pm," said Dacic.

The referendum question will be, "Are you in favor of confirming the act on changing the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia?"

"I will remind you once again, the change of the Constitution refers only to that part which concerns the organization of the authorities, i.e. the manner of electing judges and prosecutors. It has nothing to do with the issue of the preamble, that is, Kosovo and Metohija. Our stance on that is clear, that Kosovo and Metohija is an integral part of the Republic of Serbia. In particular, it has nothing to do with various other issues that have been politicized lately," he added.

Dacic called on all citizens to turn out and vote, saying that "it is in Serbia's interest to confirm the decision of the National Assembly."

"There is no winner in a referendum, but I want Serbia to win. The issue of changing the constitution requires a two-thirds majority, which also passed this decision. It has extremely great political power. In the future, we will have a lot of discussions on other issues, whether it is about laws or the Constitution. The issue of what majority is sufficient for the success of a referendum is not an issue that we have dealt with. In order for the referendum to succeed, it is necessary for the majority of those who turn out to vote 'yes'," Dacic explained.

During the debate in the Assembly, Minister of Justice Maja Popovic said that the change of the Constitution in the field of justice is a condition for further reform of the legal system, which will, among other things, enable better assessments and progress of Serbia in the European integration process.

She added that the goals of the change of the Constitution are to increase legal security of citizens, legal protection and make sure that trials are taking place within a reasonable amount of time.

(Telegraf.rs)