BIRODI Calls on MPs to Initiate Dismissal of REM Council Chair

BIRODI

The Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI) called on Serbian Members of Parliament to launch an initiative for the dismissal of the president of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) Council, Olivera Zekic, due to a conflict of interest and a violation of the law prohibiting the use of neo-Nazi or fascist symbols and insignia. 

The Bureau said in a press release that the Anti-Corruption Agency had not established a conflict of interest the president of the REM Council was potentially involved in since February. Following BIRODI’s complaint, Zekic took part in a session of the Council at which a decision was expected as to whether she violated the REM Council’s Code of Conduct when she posted a photo of herself wearing a Nazi uniform on the social network Telegram. 

"In the latest response by the Anti-Corruption Agency on June 11, BIRODI was informed that the process to establish the existence of a conflict of interest involving the president of the REM Council was underway, and that the Bureau would be notified of its completion. The Agency’s response explains why Serbia, aside from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the worst-ranked country in the Western Balkans," BIRODI said in the release. 

The organization went on to say that Serbia’s poor ranking “is largely due to the pronounced impunity of high-ranking state officials,” which according to the Bureau, “all international and domestic reports have already suggested.”