19. 02. 2005

BROADCAST COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTED

BELGRADE, February 19, 2005 – The Serbian Parliament voted for a new composition of the Broadcasting Council on February 17, 2005. From the list of candidates submitted by the Parliamentary Culture and Information Board, the Parliament voted Aleksandar Vasic, Vladimir Cvetkovic and Nenad Cekic. Goran Karadzic will represent the Parliament of Vojvodina, while Svetozar Stojanovic joins the Council as the candidate of universities. On behalf of professional media, drama and arts associations, the Parliament voted Slobodan Djoric. The Parliament also voted Velimir Milosevic (civic sector) and Bishop Porfirije (religious communities). The ninth member from Kosovo is to be elected by the Council. This would enable the constitution of the body, which should have been formed by November last year under the amendments of the Broadcast Act. The Independent Association of Serbian Journalists, the Association of Independent Electronic Media, Belgrade Media Center and Association of Serbian composers and dramatic artists did not participate in the coordination of the lists of candidates. The associations explained that the concept of the Broadcast Council as an independent expert body was seriously violated with the amendments of the Act. The amendments of the Broadcast Act enabled the election of the new Council last summer. However, the previous provision that same person could not be elected twice in a row does not apply, so the litigious members of the Council, elected in 2003, could be voted again. By amending the Act, the list of authorized proposers has been changed so that, instead of the Serbian and Vojvodina Parliaments, the candidates are nominated by the Serbian Parliament’s Culture and Information Committee. The provision that stipulated the qualified majority of members of Parliament for deciding on the Council members’ deposition has been excluded from the Act, so now the members can be relieved on the proposal of the Council or at least 20 MPs.