Belgrade, May 16, 2024.
Civic initiatives warn against the direct interference of the executive power in the selection process of the new Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM). Several organizations dealing with the protection of children’s rights have informed that in the previous days they received calls and instructions regarding the candidate nomination process from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, as well as the Cabinet of the Minister without portfolio in charge of gender equality. They also received invitations from the local self-government units that finance the projects of these organizations.
Such actions represent a direct violation of the letter and spirit of the Law on Electronic Media, which clearly stipulates who are the authorized proposers in the process of selecting REM members. The executive power is not the proposer and has no role in the nomination procedure, and its involvement through political pressure seriously threatens the independence and legality of the entire process. Please note that the mentioned activities indicate abuse of official position, which is punishable by a prison sentence of two to twelve years. That’s why we invite other organizations that are under pressure to document the invitations and reports to the competent authorities and Citizens’ Initiatives.
We remind the National Assembly that during the last election process for members of the Council, which was annulled, a series of irregularities started with political pressure on the proposers. We expect that this time the National Assembly will make it clear that it is responsible for the implementation of the procedure and that it will ensure that every further step takes place in accordance with the law, without external influence.
We invite the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the competent Committee for Culture and Information to publicly warn the representatives of the executive power to refrain from any interference in the election process, in order to preserve the legality, integrity and public trust in the work of REM as an independent regulatory body.