Shocked by the scandalous decision of the Parliament’s leadership to modify the official transcripts from parliamentary sittings through lies and censorship, in order to erase segments of the ruling majority MPs’ verbal attacks, we demand that such absolutely undemocratic, non-parliamentary and unethical practice immediately stops. In any functional parliamentary democracy, those responsible for such a scandal would suffer consequences and would be dismissed from their parliamentary positions.

In the “redacted” version of parliamentary transcript from Thursday, June 22, which was published on the Parliament’s website on Tuesday, June 27, the sentence: “You are murdering pensioners in Aranđelovac”, spoken by MP Nebojša Bakarec while interrupting the speech of MP Zoran Zečević, is missing. As such an action of an MP would present the justifiable reason for the reaction of the Speaker of the Parliament, any reaction was missing, while the cover-up of this sentence was used to manipulate the real events in the Parliament for the benefit of the ruling majority, following the established practice of the current parliamentary convocation.

The Open Parliament yesterday pointed to unusual delay of several days in publishing parliamentary transcripts from Thursday, June 22, which were published at the Parliament’s website only yesterday, on Tuesday, June 27. By comparing the excerpts of the preserved copy of the transcript that journalists and MPs received on June 22, and the transcript published at the Parliament’s website, the clear difference was identified – the comment of the MP Bakarec, which existed in the previous version of the transcript, was missing. The subsequent decision to stop the practice of forwarding parliamentary transcripts to journalists and MPs on the day of the parliamentary sitting, and to provide them only the following day, exemplifies the serious attempt to continue with this scandalous practice.

Hiding of the truth in parliamentary speeches most seriously undermines the transparency in the work of the highest institution in the Republic of Serbia, which represents the fundamental value that should not be questioned.

MPs are frequently subjected to reasonable critiques due to the inappropriate behavior, hate speech, verbal violence, and even situations on the verge of physical violence, transforming the legislative institution into the generator of violence in a society. However, it is not expected from the parliamentary leadership to use falsification in order to divert the truth in the official documents and present the work of the Parliament in a more acceptable way. 

 

Photo 1: A photograph of the original transcript from June 22, 2023, published by the MP Gavrilović

 

 

Photo 2: Screenshot of the transcript from June 22, 2023, published at the Parliament’s website on June 27, 2023

 

The autumn session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia was like Groundhog Day. All sittings were scheduled within a period shorter than the usual seven days, typically only 24 hours before the beginning of the sitting, and the discussions flew by in a whirlwind of insults and digressions. We were able to hear about everything except the agenda.

Jesenje zasedanje Narodne Skupštine Republike Srbije proteklo je poput Dana mrmota. Sve sednice zakazane su u roku kraćem od uobičajenih sedam dana, najčešće samo 24 sata pre početka sednice, a rasprave proletele u vrtlogu uvreda i digresija. Mogli smo čuti o svemu sem o dnevnom redu.

The electoral system of Serbia foresees that the whole of Serbia is one electoral unit and that every member of parliament is a representative of all citizens of Serbia. On the other hand, it is indisputable that the local problems and needs of citizens can best be understood and represented by members of parliament who come from their environment, which is why it is important to have at least one representative in the Assembly who will represent the interests of a particular local community.

The moment has come to bid farewell to the old legislature of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. The new, 13th legislature in a row since the re-establishment of the multiparty system in Serbia was constituted in August. The new legislature has a task ahead that is difficult and easy at the same time – to do better than the previous legislature.

Došao je trenutak da se oprostimo od starog saziva Narodne Skupštine Republike Srbije. Novi, 13. po redu od ponovnog uspostavljanje višestranačja u Srbiji, konstituisan je u avgustu. Šta je obeležilo rad starog saziva, i kakva su očekivanja od novog, teme su novog broja biltena Parlament pod lupom.

Preliminarna analiza strukture novog saziva Skupštine Srbije pokazala je neravnomernu raspodelu poslaničkih mandata u 13. sazivu, kada je reč o geografsko-administrativnom kriterijumu. Šta je sve pokazala dublja analiza prebivališta poslanika kojima je mandat potvrđen na konstitutivnoj sednici 13. saziva možete pročitati u našem novom istraživanju.

Prateći rad Narodne skupštine u više saziva Narodne skupštine, radni tim Crte je prepoznao potrebu da se pojedine odredbe Poslovnika Narodne skupštine izmene, odnosno dopune kako bi se na taj način, sa jedne strane formalnopravno rešila pojedina pitanja koja su se u radu ovog najvišeg predstavničkog tela u praksi pojavljivala, a sa druge strane radi unapređenja postojećih i razvijanja novih poslovničkih instituta i mehanizama od značaja za obavljanje predstavničke, zakonodavne, kontrolne i izborne funkcije Narodne skupštine.

The state of democracy in Serbia in 2021 and the functioning of the 12th convocation of the National Assembly demonstrate certain specifics that go beyond parliamentarism and cannot be explained by its general crisis that affects even stable democracies. While analysing the work of the National Assembly, it is important to keep in mind the broader context which, in the case of Serbia, implies a deep crisis of all important institutions of the political system, the scale of which threatens the very division of power.

Stanje demokratije u Srbiji u 2021. godini i funkcionisanje 12. saziva Narodne skupštine nose određene specifičnosti koje prevazilaze i ne mogu se objasniti opštom krizom parlamentarizma, sa kojom se suočavaju i stabilne demokratije. Važno je, prilikom analize rada Narodne skupštine, imati u vidu širi kontekst koji, u slučaju Srbije, podrazumeva duboku krizu svih važnih institucija političkog sistema, čije razmere ugrožavaju samu podelu vlasti. Iako je Srbija, po svom ustavnom uređenju, parlamentarna demokratija sa određenim elementima tipičnijim za predsedničke sisteme, koncentracija moći u rukama predsednika Republike (i najveće partije u parlamentu) je u potpunosti istisnula svaku drugu dinamiku među preostalim institucijama. Parlament je marginalizovan, a bojkot prethodnih izbora koji su doveli do skoro pa potpunog izostanka opozicije je navedenu okolnost dodatno ogolio.