Transparency Serbia has called Anti-Corruption Agency’s comment on whether Aleksandar Vucic has broken the law with his campaign „The Future of Serbia“ as „strange“, adding that other facts, apart from those in the Agency’s press release, should be investigated too.
This, in particular, refers to issues related to “the use of public resources and the use of meetings in which an official participates and meetings the official has with the view of promoting political parties,” Transparency’s statement said.
“First of all, it remains to be determined whether the rallies in which Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic participated in that capacity were also used for party purposes,” Transparency said.
“Namely, although Article 29, section 5, of the Law on Anti-Corruption Agency states that officials, appointed by the electorate, don’t have to clearly state on whose behalf they are speaking, does that not mean that they are allowed to use the gatherings in which they participate as state officials for party purposes“, Transparency Serbia adds.
Transparency estimates that “the fact that the Agency responded quickly to the above allegations or doubts that a senior state official has violated,” is highly unusual behaviour.
“The Agency has never issued such a statement on its website in other cases where possible violations of the Law have been reported by public officials or political parties,” Transparency adds.
“For example, Transparency Serbia has pointed several times to a possible violation of the rules under Article 29 of the Law on Anti-Corruption Agency, inter alia, concerning the conduct of the officials of the City of Belgrade and members of the Government. We did receive the Agency’s opinion but it was never published on its website“, Transparency Serbia adds.
“The fact that the information about the campaign is being broadcast on the website www.vucic.rs, which has content about of the party activities of the president of Serbia, is in our opinion a violation of Article 29, section 2, of the Law on Anti-Corruption Agency“, the Civil Front organizations have said in their protest letter to the Agency, including Biro za Društvena Istraživanja, the Ne Davimo Beograd initiative, civil association „Naš Grad, Naša Stvar“ from Zrenjanin, „Lokalni Front Va“ from Valjevo, „Lokalna Alternativa“ from Vrbas, „Samo Lokalno“ from Bečej and „Samo Jako“ from Mladenovac.
(Danas, 21.02.2019)
https://www.danas.rs/politika/ts-neobicno-saopstenje-agencije-za-borbu-protiv-korupcije/
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