The very importance of the referendum and the people’s initiative, as forms of direct democracy, is best indicated by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, which states that sovereignty comes from citizens who exercise it through a referendum, people’s initiative or through their elected representatives. The new Bill on Referendum and People’s Initiative, which is now being passed after more than 20 years, will enable citizens to more efficiently exercise their right to participate in the exercise of power,” Marija Obradović, Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, has said at the beginning of the general debate on the Draft Bill on Referendum and People’s Initiative, which has commenced today at the National Assembly.
Obradović has recalled that the valid law was passed back in 1994, with minimal amendments in 1998, and that its significant shortcomings have resulted in the fact that the institutes of referendum and people’s initiatives were rarely used in practice.
She has also pointed out that the adoption of the Constitution and of the Constitutional Law on Implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in 2006 have established the obligation of harmonizing all laws, including the Bill in question, with the Constitution by 2009.
“Why the Bill on Referendum and People’s Initiative has not been harmonized with the Constitution until now is not a question to which I should be the one to provide an answer. In the previous year, the Ministry which I lead was dedicated to the final drafting of the Bill that is presented today before the National Assembly, in order to confirm the upcoming amendments to the Constitution in the field of judiciary via a referendum, which shall be conducted according to a law that is fully harmonized with the Constitution. . It would be inappropriate to ammend the Constitution according to the law that is in conflict with it,” Obradović has stressed.
Speaking about the novelties introduced by the Bill, Obradović has, first of all, stated the harmonization with Article 203 of the Constitution, which stipulates that in order to confirm the Constitution in a referendum, it is necessary for the majority of voters who have participated in voting to vote in favour of it. The Draft Bill regulates all types of referendums stipulated under the Constitution, such as referendum on a national, provincial and local level, on the entire territory or part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, province or local self-government unit, obligatory or optional, previous and subsequent, as well as constitutional, legislative or administrative. Moreover, the referendum can be of an advisory nature. Obradović has said that the Draft Bill also regulates the deadlines for holding the referendum, as no earlier than 45 and no later than 60 days from the day of its announcement, and added that a special novelty of the Bill is the possibility for the assembly to determine its view on the subject of the referendum when it is announced at the request of voters.
Obradović has especially pointed out the novelties which the new Bill introduces when it comes to the people’s initiative, because it removes the restrictiveness in regards to the manner of collecting signatures. She has stated that the collection of signatures will no longer have to be reported to the Ministry of Interior, while the deadline for collecting signatures has been extended from the previous seven to 90 days. In addition to the fact that the Bill stipulates that the signatures of voters who support the initiative should be certified by authorized certifiers, for which a fee of RSD 40 is paid, it is possible to collect signatures electronically, which will not be subject to certification and payment of fees for such certification. As Obradović has pointed out, this shall be regulated by a Government’s Decree within six months from the adoption of the law.
In concluding her address, she has recalled the novelties in terms of arranging and defining the procedure of the referendum campaign and its financing. Obradović has also pointed out the exceptional cooperation of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government with the Venice Commission, whose opinions, comments and recommendations were taken into account during the drafting of this Bill.
“I think that we have managed to prepare a Bill while adhering to the Venetian principles of good practice in the field of referendum, that we have eliminated the shortcomings which prevented the citizens from exercising their right to referendum and people’s initiative, and that all this will be recognized as a step forward in the efficient exercise of the right of citizens to participate in the exercise of power through referendums and people’s initiative. We haven’t had a better law to be proud of for a long time, which is especially important, because it regulates two important mechanisms for exercising the sovereignty of citizens through direct democracy,” Obradović has concluded.
She has invited the MPs to adopt the Bill on Referendum and People’s Initiative on Voting Day, thus enabling the upcoming amendments to the Constitution in the field of judiciary to be confirmed in a referendum, which will be implemented according to the law harmonized with the Constitution.
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