New statute "won't diminish Vojvodina's autonomy"

New statute "won't diminish Vojvodina's autonomy"

BELGRADE -- Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojković has said that the new draft of the Statute of Vojvodina does not diminish the province's autonomy.

This official from the ranks of the ruling Progressives (SNS) added that the draft should be presented to MPs on Friday.

"The statute has been harmonized with the decision of the Constitutional Court, but no solution has diminished the autonomy of the province. Novi Sad is the administrative center of the provincial government, the government of Vojvodina is not called this but the provincial government. So, the essence has not changed, rather the names have changed," Gojković told the public broadcaster RTS.

Noting that the previous statute was not harmonized with the Constitution of Serbia, she said the new proposal is, and will be discussed by the province's assembly as soon as on Tuesday.

According to the speaker, all dilemmas have been removed in the new proposal, while she believes that the provincial assembly would easily arrive at a draft that would be immediately sent to the parliament in Belgrade.

She is convinced that no political party would be "absolutely be against the new proposal," and that "a majority of both the government and opposition will adopt it."

Gojković also revealed that the session of parliament on Friday would be special and dedicated only to the Vojvodina Statute.

When asked whether these changes were a prelude to snap provincial elections in Vojvodina - where a coalition led by the Democratic Party (DS) is in power - she said:

"The SNS does not have the goal of coming to power through political crises, but only by the will of the...