Opposition Candidate: Belgrade Ripe for Change

Dobrica Veselinovic (BetaPhoto/Milan Obradovic)

In an interview for the latest edition of the Nova daily, Dobrica Veselinovic, one of the two lead candidates of the Serbia Against Violence ticket in Belgrade’s upcoming local elections, expressed his conviction that the coalition can garner enough votes in the Dec. 17 vote to independently form the capital’s local government.

“I believe that the capabilities of the people and organizations comprising the ticket are enormous, that there is a huge wave of optimism, hope and energy, that change is possible and that Belgrade is ripe for change,” said Veselinovic, of the Green-Left Front, whose ticket co-leader is Vladimir Obradovic, of the Freedom and Justice Party.

Veselinovic firmly believes that Dec. 18 will mark the beginning of a new chapter both in the lives of the capital’s new top officials and in the local authorities’ attitude toward the city and its denizens.

“Based on the emotions of people in the streets, [and] on social media, the smell of victory is already in the air [in Belgrade]. Even now, a great optimism can be felt everywhere,” he said.

The opposition candidate went on to say that the new government’s first act will be to audit all of the detrimental contracts signed by the incumbent regime and to begin restructuring the capital’s administration.