Vucic: Progressive Party Will Replace 60 Percent of People Locally in Next Elections

Aleksandar Vucic (Photo: Presidency of Serbia / Dimitrije Goll)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Jan. 17 that more than 60 percent of tickets locally in the elections this coming spring would be spearheaded by different people than four years ago, adding that this was "a big change of leadership personnel in Serbia," given that the Serbian Progressive Party, which he leads, is in power in 97 percent of local self-government units.

Vucic told Prva TV that after the general election there would be "huge changes in the Serbian government as well, as far as the Serbian Progressive Party is concerned," adding that it was the party that invested the most in young leaders. "As for the Serbian government, there have been significant changes, but insufficient, there will be more in the coming period. We will change roughly 60 percent of people, we are working systemically and are the only ones who have a Young Leaders Academy within the party," said Vucic.

Vucic once again criticized judges and prosecutors, because he believes that the judicial system, despite the evidence it gets from the police, is not doing its job efficiently enough. However, he added, he cannot change anything because everyone would accuse him of interfering with the judiciary's independence.

In an interview with Prva TV, Vucic said that he as the president had no capacity to change things, because there was a permanence of the judicial office so "no one can touch them," and that otherwise he would get criticism from both the country and the EU.

He said that he would not sue the media connecting him and his brother with the case of marijuana growing at the Jovanjica farm, which had been subsidized by the state to produce organic food, "because I am a man who has not sued a single media outlet for any of a million lies."