ZAGREB, March 12, 2020 - The only political party of the Croat minority in Serbia will run in the country's April elections in a coalition with pro-democracy and pro-European parties, organisations and individuals, the leader of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV), Tomislav Žigmanov, said on Wednesday.
Serbia will hold elections on 26 April for city councils, the parliament of Vojvodina province and the national parliament.
As a member of the Vojvodina Front movement, which includes the Social Democratic League of Vojvodina and the Vojvodina Party, the DSHV has joined the United Democratic Serbia coalition, which comprises the organisation Serbia 21, the Modern Serbia Party and the Civic Democratic Forum.
United Democratic Serbia includes "individuals, parties and organisations that publicly, unequivocally and consistently advocate the European future of Serbia," Žigmanov said, adding that the DSHV shares their goals and values.
Žigmanov said that he would be the DSHV's candidate for the national parliament, while his deputy, Mirko Ostrogonac, would run for the provincial parliament.
As part of this coalition, the DSHV will also run in local elections in Subotica, Sombor, Bač, Zrenjanin, Pančevo, Novi Sad and Beočin.
Žigmanov said that the DSHV hadn't had any contacts with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vučić.
"The biggest problem is that this time too we are left without guaranteed seats. The excuse by Serbian officials is that this cannot be done without changing the constitution, which has turned out to be untrue because the election law has been amended with regard to the election threshold," the DSHV leader said.
He added that "there is no political readiness in Serbia to ensure guaranteed seats" for the Croat minority, which is why the DSHV joined those who have expressed an interest in the status of the Croat minority.
The question of guaranteed seats for the Croat minority in the Serbian National Assembly and the Vojvodina Assembly, based on the model that exists for the Serb minority in Croatia, has for years been at the top of the list of unresolved issues between the two countries.
More news about the status of Croats in Serbia can be found in the Diaspora section.
