Serbian Democrats to Choose New Leader in November

After a heated debate on the party’s future, Serbia’s former ruling Democrats agreed to vote on the new leadership on November 10.Members of the main board of the Democratic Party on Saturday agreed to a proposal of their leader, Boris Tadic, to elect a new party leadership on November 10.

They rejected his proposal for the voting to direct. Instead, the new leadership will be chosen through a delegate system.The two main candidates in the running for the top post are the current leader, Tadic, and the party’s deputy president, the Mayor of Belgrade, Dragan Djilas.

Part of the membership is unhappy with Tadic, Serbia’s former President, blaming him for having concentrated too much power in his hands and for losing the May general and presidential elections.

Djilas was the only senior Democrat to do well in the elections, winning the vote in Belgrade and being appointed Mayor for the second time.

Since the presidential and parliamentary elections, party officials have been publicly bickering and blaming each other for their loss of power.

Saturday’s congress was the first opportunity for them to analyze the causes and consequences of their defeat.

At the beginning of the session, Tadic presented a report on the party’s work in the previous period.

In it, he admitted that he bore the biggest responsibility for the Democrats’ poor election results but said he was not the only one responsible.

“I was ready then to step down as leader. However, the party presidency wanted me to stay on and lead the negotiations on the forming of the government,” Tadic said, recalling prolonged post-election negotiations, which in the end led to the formation of a government under the Serbian Progressive Party.