35 Opposition MPs To Nominate Lutovac for Deputy Speaker

Zoran Lutovac (Beta/Emil Vas)

A group of 35 members of parliament from the opposition announced on July 28 that they would nominate the president of the Democratic Party, Zoran Lutovac, for the post of a deputy speaker of the Serbian Parliament.

The group consists of MPs from the Democratic Party, the People's Party, the Together and Don't Let Belgrade Drown parties, and they made the announcement in a joint statement issued after consultations in the Serbian Parliament, convened by the general secretary, Veljko Odalovic.

"We expect this convocation of parliament to honor the democratic principles and the will of the people, and let the opposition parties which do not help the regime in any way, exercise the right to representation in parliamentary bodies, both through the post of deputy speaker and the posts of presidents or vice-presidents of parliamentary committees," the joint statement reads.

Radomir Lazovic from Don't Let Belgrade Drown has stated that parliamentary sessions in this convocation would proceed in a different manner, since the opposition will have a greater role than before.

"We will look for as much space for our work as possible, this being our first term in the parliament, and it is important that we present there, in the best possible way, what we speak about at protests and in the streets. We have no illusion about being able to do a lot, but we do believe that we can represent the people who are dissatisfied with how our society is functioning," Lazovic stated.