“I do not know whether the candidates of the opposition in the upcoming elections can win, but I think this is the best the opposition could muster,” said Zoran Sekulic, director and editor-in-chief of the FoNet news agency.
Commenting on the opposition’s presidential candidate, Zdravko Ponos, Sekulic says that “he is not running to beat Vucic, but to get to the second round.”
The opposition platform Ujedinjena Srbija presented the candidates for the upcoming elections. Its leading candidate, Marinika Tepic, said that the four top officials of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) have pledged to leave politics if, in case of election victory, they do not fulfil the priorities set out in the opposition’s plan for the post-election period.
Presidential candidate Zdravko Ponos explained that the unity of that part of the opposition was a prerequisite for him accepting the candidacy, while the candidate for Belgrade mayor, Vladeta Jankovic, promised transparency in the management of the capital and no revenge against those who are now in power in Belgrade.
“This is the most the opposition could have achieved. Compared to fifteen days ago, we can call this progress. The negotiation was certainly not easy, there were mistakes in the assessments, but in the end, an agreement was reached and three people were chosen (as candidates). Each of them will have their own chances,“ Sekulic said.
As for Ponos, Sekulic says that “he is not running to win against Vucic, but to get to the second round of the elections.” Asked whether this could be Aleksandar Vučić’s biggest defeat and whether Ponos is a good candidate since “Serbia loves soldiers and generals,” Sekulic said that the government had shown nervousness when Ponos was mentioned as a possible opposition candidate.
Commenting on press statements about Vladeta Janković, Sekulić says that criticism that he is too old or unqualified for such a position is not acceptable. The mayor, he adds, should gather a team of professionals around him. “I welcome the fact that he has accepted the candidacy and is ready to take the risk together with his team, and I respect that,” he says.
(N1, 03.02.2022)
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