The Movement Serbia Center, SRCE, was founded in July 2022 and was initiated by Mr. Zdravko Ponoš, after the participation in the last Presidential Elections in Serbia, in which he received more than 700,000 votes. The idea was to gather individuals with integrity and successful careers in all spheres of life, and to establish an organization of a political center, cherishing European democratic values.
After a nine-month period of formative activities, working on program and policy documents, enlarging membership, electing officials, organizational and political circumstances have matured, and SRCE leadership has reached a decision to initiate a campaign and transform a movement to a status of a political party. Primary reason for this is an intention and readiness to undertake the responsibility for the future of Serbia, to bring the identity of SRCE closer to citizens and to participate in democratic shaping of their political will.
This process is very demanding, having in mind the administrative and organizational engagement, as well as substantial field work. The current procedure for registering a new political party in practical terms means gathering 10,000 founding signatures (signed statements) of citizens (vs. the old provision of 100), officially verified by the Public Notary. When it comes to Ethnic Minority Parties it takes 1,000 signatures. Public Notaries charge a tax of somewhat more than 3 Euros per signed statement. Also, for all parties, it is necessary to have a Founding Assembly and Founding Act, Program, Statutes, Representing person etc. The Law on Political Parties was adopted in 2009, and one of its intentions was to decrease a huge number of parties registered, from more than 400 at a time, many of which were fictive.
Necessary conditions to be met in order to register as a party are different throughout Europe. When it comes to a number of signatures some of the practices go from as few as 3 in Spain, 100 as it is required in Croatia, 200 in Latvia and Slovenia, 1,000 in Czech Republic and Poland, 2,000 in Lithuania, 7,500 in Portugal, 10,000 in Slovakia up to 25,000 in Romania.
The Register of Political Parties of Serbia published on website of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, last updated on June 14, 2023 consists of 125 parties (about 75 minority), indicating that out of this total number, 9 were deleted (5 of which minority) in the meantime. In the acting Law on Political Parties, the Article 27 of the Law foresees the possibility to “Change the data in the Register” of existing parties. The Law is not limiting the change when it comes to name of the Party or the Representing person.
Many political parties have changed their names since 2009, some even for several times. Sometimes, this could be solely technical issue, but sometimes it could resemble of “market approach”. In a number of cases, the question of legitimacy is in stake, because it is not clear whether the original founders would support this kind of trade. Practically, through “changing the data” someone new could be allowed to take over formally registered party, who can change its name and documents, the whole identity. Furthermore, ones who take over, could avoid demanding and costly process of collecting 10,000 signatures of citizens and instantly get to have a “new” party. This could be a source of serious corruption and additional legal mechanisms should be introduced in order to prevent it and not to allow it to become a part of a political culture.
Transparency International has stated that CPI (Corruption Perception Index) score in public sector in Serbia is the worst in last 11 years since this methodology is being used. Fight against corruption is very high on SRCE agenda and It is one of the few political subjects having this kind of specialized committee, chaired by person whose PhD thesis was on Institutional factors of political corruption. Serbia Center Program strongly promotes strengthening the rule of law and independent bodies in the anticorruption field.
Having in mind these facts, SRCE Movement has decided to start a campaign on March 25, 2023 in order to directly get in touch with citizens, promote its values and principles and gather necessary support through 10,000 signatures. Although the harder way, it is the right way. This is the part of the process to show will to keep building identity on solid foundations and that politicians are here to serve citizens and not vice-versa.
Furthermore, it is important to be honest and open towards the voters from the beginning. It’s also a good opportunity to work on extending SRCE network and getting new members. In addition, the campaign of collecting signatures is beneficial from the point of being able to communicate directly to the people, because the media access is quite limited. In the meantime, this process was successfully accomplished.
Since political parties and political pluralism are very important factors in every parliamentary democracy, it is necessary that the process of founding of these political subjects is transparent, public and with the full participation of citizens. Serbia Center believes this is the right way to prove credibility, gain legitimacy, and develop identity. The way you develop democracy and institutions in your own party is an indicator of the capacity to successfully build and strengthen democratic institutions, procedures and rule of law in the society.
