The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Dr Vladimir Orlic met today with Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The officials declared the cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and ODIHR as successful and significant, especially in the process of implementing comprehensive reforms in the Republic of Serbia in previous years.
As the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia pointed out, the 2022 general elections in the Republic of Serbia were conducted under the best conditions since the introduction of multi-party system in our country, with previous legislative amendments which incorporated all measures agreed through inter-party dialogue and numerous recommendations of ODIHR observation missions. "In that way, we achieved the best election conditions and the highest democratic standards ever," said Dr Orlic.
He noted that the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia is currently discussing legal acts related to the judiciary, which would complete the reform launched with the change to the Constitution last year, adding that the Venice Commission had given a positive opinion to the aforementioned legislative proposals. "The long process was completely transparent and inclusive. By adopting these laws, we are reaching the best democratic standards in the history of our country in another important area," said the National Assembly Speaker.
The officials also discussed women’s participation in politics, and pointed out that the 2020 law ensures the participation of a minimum of 40% of the less represented gender on the election lists. "In this way, we have ensured the most significant participation of women in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia so far, which is also visible in all other state institutions. This important change, like the others we are talking about today, was created based on the direct political support of the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and is an integral part of the state policy we implement at all levels, including the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia," said Dr Orlic.
Matteo Mecacci opined that the cooperation so far is successful, expressing his readiness for its continuation in the future and emphasising that the progress Serbia has achieved is also evident in the ODIHR reports.
