Serbian citizens backed changes to the justice constitution in a referendum Sunday. This was stated by the President of the Republic Alexander Vucic in his address to the nation after the results of the referendum, quoted by TACC.
"Based on 97.02% of the ballots processed, 60.48% of the voters voted in favor and 39.52% voted against. In total, more than 1.8 million people voted in favor, with the majority voting in favor. "More than 400,000 people. I congratulate the citizens of Serbia who voted for changes to the constitution. Serbia has sent a positive signal to the world, I believe we will be able to take steps towards further democratization and independence of the judiciary in the coming period," Vucic said.
The Serbian leader noted that the turnout in the referendum was about 30%. "This is a lot for a referendum, we expected turnout of 25% and turnout was 30%. The counting of the remaining votes will not affect the result in any way," the president said. At the same time, according to him, in the country's capital, Belgrade, a majority of voters oppose changes to the constitution.
At the referendum, the citizens answered the question: "Are you in favor of confirming the act amending the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia?" Voters had to answer the question "yes" or "no".
The changes introduced in the referendum relate to justice, namely the election of judges and prosecutors. According to the amendment, judges will no longer be elected to the National Assembly (Parliament), and this will be done by the Supreme Judicial Council, consisting of 11 people - six judges elected by the College of Judges, four lawyers elected by parliament and the President, the Supreme Court.
The Minister of Justice, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice will no longer participate in the election of judges. The three-year probation period for judges is canceled.
From now on, state prosecutors will also not be elected by parliament on the proposal of the government, but by the Supreme Prosecutorial Council. It will consist of 11 people - five prosecutors, four members elected by parliament by a qualified majority (2/3 of all votes), as well as the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General. In addition, the post of Deputy Prosecutor is abolished.
The referendum was held in connection with the EU's requirements for Belgrade to reform the judiciary. In return, Brussels promised "the best assessments of Serbia's progress in the European integration process". Voting was conducted in accordance with a new law that removes the mandatory threshold of 50% turnout for a referendum. Thus, a simple majority of votes was needed to adopt the initiative.
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