Stevica Smederevac Becomes REM Council President
Serbia's REM Council unanimously elected Stevica Smederevac president at its fourth constitutive session, after three failed attempts since July. Ira Prodanov Krajisnik was elected as his deputy.
The Council of Serbia’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) unanimously elected Stevica Smederevac president on September 22, at its fourth constitutive session, after three failed attempts between July and September. The session was held at REM headquarters on Nikola Pasic Square in Belgrade and was open to the public. The decision comes just ahead of the start of election campaign monitoring, one of the regulator’s key duties.
The vote was held by secret ballot, and all eight council members present backed Smederevac. Ira Prodanov Krajisnik was elected his deputy, and it was she who announced the result. News of the vote broke around 1:45 p.m.
With an elected leadership now in place, the council, which was formally constituted months ago, gains the standing to take on every responsibility set out by law, including monitoring of the pre-election campaign.
At the three previous constitutive sessions, held on July 20, July 30 and September 1, no candidate managed to secure enough votes for president. This was the fourth attempt to give the council a leadership since it was constituted.
A Package Deal
Council member Milos Garic, who had himself been a candidate for president at earlier sessions, said ahead of the secret ballot that same day consultations had produced an agreement: Smederevac would take the president’s seat, while, as part of the same package, Prodanov Krajisnik would become his deputy. He said it was she who had pushed to reach the agreement, and that he was glad Smederevac had agreed to take on a role that, in his words, is far from easy.
Garic described the negotiations as difficult to reach, calling the discussion heated and unpleasant, but said the outcome was, in his own assessment, a good one.
Smederevac has worked in various REM departments for 14 years. The Slavko Curuvija Foundation had earlier challenged his candidacy, saying he had taken part in unlawful conduct by the regulator.
What Sabic Wants
After the session, Rodoljub Sabic announced that he would push, as he put it, for Informer TV’s programming to be included in the campaign monitoring. REM’s professional staff will track a total of 11 television channels during the campaign: the public broadcasters, stations holding a national frequency, and three cable channels.
Sabic had previously warned that REM was carrying out its monitoring based on the channel list adopted for the 2023 elections, since the new council had not been formally constituted in time to update it. As a result, neither Informer nor Kurir had made that list so far, despite his request.
A Return After Resignations
The council’s first constitutive session under this membership took place after four elected members, who had earlier resigned from their posts, announced they would take part in the body’s work after all, following the adoption of an authentic interpretation of the Law on Electronic Media. They are Dubravka Valic Nedeljkovic, Ira Prodanov Krajisnik, Mileva Malesic and Rodoljub Sabic.
The other four members, elected earlier and serving without interruption, are Stevica Smederevac, Milan Petkovic, Milos Garic and Snezana Miljkovic. All eight were present at today’s session.
Ninth Seat Still Vacant
REM’s council is still missing its ninth member, a representative of the national councils of national minorities. When Serbia’s National Assembly voted on the seat last November, neither of the two candidates won the required majority, so that election still needs to be held. Until then, the council operates with eight members, which, as today’s session showed, did not stop it from electing its leadership unanimously.
