Dr Orlic said he was open to cooperation with PACE representatives in all the stages of the election process, reminding the guests that the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia has, a is its common practice, invited all interested international organisation to send observation missions to monitor the electoral process.

The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia stressed that, in cooperation with the Council of Europe and Venice Commission and by fulfilling many ODIHR recommendations, Serbia has conducted significant reforms and improved the democratic atmosphere. He emphasised that the Republic of Serbia will hold the upcoming elections in even better electoral conditions compared to the last ones which were, as had already been noted, held at the highest democratic level since the introduction of the multi-party system in the country.

Dr Orlic pointed to the fact that Albin Kurti has been most flagrantly preventing the Serbian people from presenting for the elections on 17 December. “Along with the daily terror he has been conducting, Kurti is now most flagrantly denying the Serbian people’s fundamental human and civil rights by breaking the agreements that have been in force since 2021. For the violation of the agreements, terror, intimidation and maltreatment of Serbs and all of his unscrupulousness, Kurti seeks a reward in the form of membership in the Council of Europe, which is unacceptable and impossible to justify”, said Speaker Orlic.

The four-member delegation, comprising representatives of different political options from Austria, Slovenia, Spain and Romania, emphasised the importance of talking to all the actors in the electoral process in Serbia. Consequently, they announced that they will in the course of the day have meetings with representatives of the political groups, as well as representatives of REM and the Republic Electoral Commission. They were interested in the Parliament’s work and climate on the eve of the coming elections and thanked the host for the friendly and informative talk.

The meeting of Speaker Orlic and the PACE delegation was also attended by Biljana Pantic Pilja, Head of the National Assembly’s standing delegation to PACE.