Vucic Reiterates Parliamentary Elections Will Be Held This Year

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Feb. 6 that the people knew that early parliamentary elections would be held by the end of the year, as he had announced before, dismissing speculation that the vote could be postponed.

"People know when I announce an increase in pensions that it will happen. They know the same goes for elections. And as for protests and not recognizing results, some people don't understand that their time has passed and that it is over," Vucic told reporters after touring a rennovated high school in Mladenovac.

He said that his question for his political opponents was what they intended to do after announcing that they would not recognize the results of the election if the government declared victory. He went on to say that Serbian Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic, on trial in the General Staff building case, was not guilty of anything. Vucic also said that everything that had to do with the halted General Staff project, which was supposed to tear down the remains of the bombed out building and replace it with a housing and business complex, was done in the spirit of "the most noble and best of intentions."

He reiterated that as president of Serbia he was "very concerned" by a military alliance between Zagreb, Tirana and Pristina. "This is  no technical military cooperation alliance. It is a military alliance forged for defense or for offensive action against certain territories. A defensive alliance can turn offensive in a day, so we are wondering for what and for whom. You're all in NATO except for Pristina, so another question is how did you make a military alliance with Pristina," Vucic said.