Jeremic: Citizens Expect United Opposition in Upcoming Elections

Vuk Jeremic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Vuk Jeremic, the president of the People's Party, has said that it is most important for the opposition to maintain unity and enter the April 3 elections with as wide a front as possible because the people expect them to stand as one.

"We have to breathe as one, work for each other, watch each other's backs, count votes together and fight together -- only then is our victory in larger cities guaranteed. We might even win in the entire country," Jeremic said in an interview for Nova S TV, his party announced late on Jan. 19.

According to him, anything is possible if an uplifting atmosphere is created in the weeks leading up to the elections, and if the people realize that the opposition "is truly unified and have set all their differences aside."

Jeremic stressed that it is imperative for the opposition to put forth a single presidential candidate, a joint parliamentary ticket and a joint ticket for the local vote in Belgrade, adding that the name of said presidential candidate would be unveiled "by the end of January."

Commenting on reports that Prime Minister Ana Brnabic would soon announce that "Rio Tinto will be leaving Serbia," Jeremic maintained this was "yet another lie that the people of Serbia will hear from their prime minister." "The authorities are aware that the great majority of citizens do not want Serbia's environment to be destroyed through lithium mining, especially not in [the] Jadar [valley]. Since the elections are near, the government will tell the public that they have abandoned this project when, in fact, they have not -- because terminating a contract requires far more than a single press conference. It requires a complex legal and legislative process," Jeremic concluded.