Gajic: People's Party interested in elections being called as soon as possible

BELGRADE - Speaking to reporters after consultations with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, People's Party leader Vladimir Gajic said on Wednesday his party was interested in early elections being called as soon as possible as the only democratic way out of the current social and political crisis in the country.

Gajic said the party had honoured the president's invitation to consultations as, under the Constitution, he had the authority to discuss a demand for early elections, made by a part of opposition parties, citizens and students.

"As a non-parliamentary party, we are interested in regaining parliamentary status, and are, therefore, interested in elections being called," Gajic said.

"Our opinion is that they should be held as soon as possible, rather than later this year, and we hope that is the only democratic way out of this political and social crisis, which has been going on in Serbia for more than a year and a half now," he added.

Gajic said they had presented to Vucic several key political documents adopted by the People's Party, including a document on reforms and amendments to the electoral system.

"Our proposal is to make it a so-called semi-personalised system, which means that is both a majority and proportional system, and that the number of MPs be reduced to below 170. As it is, the current parliament is both expensive and too bulky for a country of six to seven million people, such as Serbia," he said.