Srdanovic: All upcoming arrests will be in line with the law

"Our first step when we form the government will be to establish the rule of law, and those who are said to be destroying documentation in some institutions these days, which is evidence of criminal acts, will not get away with it," said Ilija Srdanovic, who was the first candidate on the Student List.

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Several days after early parliamentary elections, the main question is what is the plan and what are the first steps of the new government going to be. On Sunday, November 1, elections were repeated at 53 polling stations in Serbia, which is why the formation of a new government is postponed.

What will be the first steps of the new government? Who could be the new prime minister and ministers?

Now we are waiting for the repeat voting in more than 50 polling stations to be over, although that will not be able to influence the final result in terms of changing the number of mandates, but for legitimacy they (final election results) need to be declared by the election commission in its entirety. Then we effectively start the stopwatch, which will count down the days until the constitution of the new government. The first steps of the new government will be related to the rule of law and taking over the most important management mechanisms in the executive power, which will ensure equality for all. It's still too early to speculate about the name of the new prime minister and the names of ministers. Only when we get the final election results can we talk about it. As for the future prime minister and ministers, there are a number of quality candidates on the list for those positions, which is still too early to talk about.

Are there any announcements about new arrests in institutions?

All upcoming arrests will be made in accordance with the law, wherever there is evidence of criminal acts, which will be dealt with by the prosecution. If they have proof of committed criminal acts by any person, who is a participant in politics or any other part of life, in the economy, public sector, the prosecution will initiate proceedings. You've seen what was in store for the undisputed ruler and the so-called owner of Jovina Gymnasium, who is in custody today because he abused the law and did not respect court decisions. Adequate measures will be provided for anyone who has violated the law, especially the criminal procedure.

What is the message for people in institutions who are destroying evidence of crimes these days?

If something like that happened in institutions, people who do such things must be made aware that it is a criminal offense and that anyone who incites, does or in some way conceals it, will be an accomplice in a criminal offense and will be prosecuted in accordance with the law. Just burning the paper is not enough to hide all the traces that exist. There is also something called the electronic form, and IT forensic procedures can easily retrieve information that they have tried to hide. It's also quite a funny and theatrical way in which someone maybe wants to intimidate and send the message that we won't know how we're going to deal with it. We know very well in what ways we can prevent this kind of abuse by institutions. We encourage people who are honest and work in institutions to prevent such occurrences, and if they are physically unable to do so, then to report them to the competent authorities.

As we heard from your colleague from the Student List, Nemanja Karovic, Telekom paid Informer between 500,000 and 700,000 euros per month, and that there was an attempt to take 1 billion dinars out of Postanska Stedionica. Can you tell us more about that?

We absolutely stand behind everything that colleague Karovic presented. These are inadmissible things, especially those related to certain media, which were mentioned on that occasion and for which there are facts and which will be most strictly sanctioned in the future. Spending budget funds, budget money, on such types of newsrooms is unacceptable and will not be allowed in the future.

What is your comment on the ultimatums sent by the new owners to the journalists of Nova, as well as the announcement of dismissal of freelance employees in the weekly Radar and the shutdown of the Nova newspaper?

In our program, media freedom for all is outlined as a fundamental value of a society. Media freedom is a fundamental human right and something we stand for. Freedom of editorial policy must be respected in accordance with our law. Nobody can interfere in the editorial policy of an outlet.

(Telegraf.rs/Nova.rs)