Platforma 12:05 congratulates Serbian students on victory and principled stance

Organisers of Platforma 12:05 congratulated Serbian voters and the newly victorious Student List after an election they called a historic repudiation of Aleksandar Vučić and long-established parties, stressing the regional importance of the result and warning of spillover effects for Macedonia.

Platforma 12:05: victory in Serbia, concerns for the region

In a statement published after Sunday’s vote, the organisers praised the high turnout and the Students’ List for what they described as endurance and principled politics that won the trust of the Serbian majority and the mandate to govern the Republic of Serbia in the coming period.

“To the citizens and nationals of Serbia we congratulate the high turnout for voting, which is yet another confirmation of how important it is that democratic changes and processes reflect freely expressed will. Congratulations to the ‘Student List’ for its persistence, perseverance and principled stand which won the trust of the large majority of the Serbian people and earned the honour and responsibility to lead the Republic of Serbia in the next period. We received yet another example after Hungary that citizens are tired of traditional political options, long‑standing professional politicians and corruption profiteers. Therefore they turn to authentic political coalitions of the progressive democratic public. Considering that for almost two years street democracy was practiced in Serbia and caused dramatic political tensions, now after the democratic change of government we wish for a quick normalization of internal affairs which are a prerequisite for stability across the region,” the organisers of Platforma 12:05 said.

Platforma 12:05 also addressed developments in Bulgaria after the first round of the presidential election and the low turnout there, calling on candidate Iliana Yotova to act over the case of Iva Mihaylova.

“We expect, after she used Iva Mihaylova’s flight in her campaign, that President Iliana Yotova will show political wisdom and ahead of the second round initiate a procedure for her swift extradition to Macedonia and confrontation with justice. Taking into account that at the time the infamous Treaty of Good Neighbourliness was signed Yotova was vice‑president to Rumen Radev, she has a moral responsibility to halt the spiral of unnecessary provocations from official Sofia. Otherwise, if radical positions that dramatically damage bilateral relations are promoted in the second‑round campaign, candidates should be aware that with such an approach they increase internal pressure in Macedonia to reconsider the Treaty of Good Neighbourliness,” former SDSM officials said.

The organisers added that the electoral shifts next door contain lessons for Skopje. They argued Macedonia should not concede national compromises that lack broad public approval, and warned that weak responses to provocations from Sofia weaken internal cohesion and make consensus on essential reforms harder to reach.

Finally, Platforma 12:05 urged domestic fulfilment of a campaign promise: the introduction of a single electoral district with open lists, saying this reform should be adopted before the next parliamentary elections so citizens can influence party lists more directly.

Photo: press material from the event