January 17 (SeeNews) - Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that he has decided to call early parliamentary elections in an attempt to resolve social conflicts that block reforms and to prepare Serbia for EU membership.
The government needs a full mandate that would allow it by 2020 to complete the reforms it has undertaken and would take Serbia out on a good and safe path, Vucic said, as quoted by his party, the Serbian Progressive Party, SNS.
He did not name a date for the snap vote.
In August, Vucic, whose cabinet is serving a four-year term, hinted before local media an early vote was possible because of pressure from the opposition which was putting a strain on the government's work.
In October, however, he said holding a snap vote in the next at least six months or so would be irresponsible as a lot of work needs to be done which would be partially stalled if an early vote is scheduled.
The Vucic-led centre-right SNS party and its partners secured 158 seats in the 250-seat parliament in parliamentary elections held in March, 2014 after SNS forced the early poll in a bid to secure a stronger ruling mandate and push through overdue reforms.