Novi Sad Faculty of Philosophy Election Commission Member Simultaneously an SNS List Candidate

Student parliament elections were held yesterday at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, but they were accompanied by a revelation raising serious questions about the impartiality of the process: one of the election commission members is simultaneously a candidate for MP on the list headed by Aleksandar Vučić in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

It is Luka Žarić, a history student and member of the election commission of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, who is simultaneously a candidate for people’s deputy on the “Aleksandar Vučić – Ujedinjena Srbija” list, ranked number 213. According to the faculty’s official data, Žarić is a student representative in the Teaching-Scientific Council, as well as the legal representative of the student organization “Savez studenata”.

This merging of functions raises the question of the political impartiality of the body that is supposed to guarantee student elections under equal conditions for all candidates — all the more so as this year’s electoral process at the Faculty of Philosophy is taking place amid serious disputes over electoral rules, signature collection and the candidacy of several student lists.

The group of students gathered around the informal “Glas” list failed to collect the required number of signatures for candidacy: they collected about 440 signatures, while 481 were needed. According to them, the election commission’s work during the collection was deliberately slowed and they were not provided equal conditions — the commission worked with only two members, although the required quorum was three, and more than 50 students remained in front of the hall unable to leave their signature, even though they had arrived before the deadline expired.

After the clash, the election commission published a statement in which members of the “Glas” group were accused of obstructing the electoral process; the statement also mentioned the names of students, with a warning of possible disciplinary measures. Among those mentioned were professors Nataša Milićević and Miloš Jocić, who had tried to help the students.

In this year’s elections only one list officially remained, that of “Savez studenata” — the faculty’s registered student organization, which under the rules had no obligation to collect signatures for candidacy. The “Glas” students nevertheless decided to place their own ballot box in the faculty, offering students a choice between “Savez studenata” and “Glas”. If today’s elections do not achieve the required turnout of 5 percent of students (about 240 votes), a second round will be held in a week, where even a single vote suffices. No member of the election commission, including Žarić, wanted to comment.

Source: Danas