October 21 (SeeNews) - Serbia's new government will be in power for less than two years, or about half of its regular four-year term, president Aleksandar Vucic.
The next general election will be held on April 3, 2022, at the latest, along with the presidential elections, Vucic, also leader of ruling populist conservative Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), said in a statement on Tuesday.
SNS, which wonthe general election held on June 21, has agreed to establish a coalition government with the runner-up Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Serbian Patriotic Alliance (SPAS), Vucic said.
"We have defined six main goals [of the new government]," he noted.
They are the fight against the coronavirus pandemic; preserving the interests of Serbia in Kosovo; fight against the mafia and organised crime; keeping Serbia's independent foreign policy; advancing the rule of law in the context of EU integration; and support for the country's economic growth.
SPS leader and current foreign minister Ivica Dacic will be proposed as new parliament speaker, while the composition of the new government will be unveiled in the coming days, Vucic said.
Earlier this month, Vucic nominated incumbent head of government Ana Brnabic as prime minister-designate, following consultations with political parties represented in the new parliament.
SNS secured 188 of 250 seats in parliament after winning 60.65% of the votes in the June general election. Only two other formations passed the threshold for entry, which was lowered to 3% of the vote from 5% in January. A coalition led by the SPS, a partner of SNS in the current government, won 10.38% of the vote and has 32 MPs, while SPAS, a populist conservative party describing itself as a centre-right organisation, which participated in general elections for the first time in its history, secured 3.83% of the vote and has 11 seats.
Among parties representing ethnic minorities, to which the 3% threshold rule does not apply, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians holds 9 seats, a coalition of Bosniak Justice and Reconciliation Party and the Democratic Party of Macedonians has four seats, while ethnic Albanian Party of Democratic Action and Bosniak Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak have three MPs each.