By RIA Novosti
Belgrade : Serbian President Boris Tadic has signed a decree dissolving the country’s parliament and slating early parliamentary elections for May 11, the presidential press service said on Thursday.
Serbia’s government collapsed on Saturday when nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said he refused to govern alongside the Democratic Party, led by President Tadic, after the party insisted on pursuing EU membership despite several EU states’ recognizing Kosovo’s independence.
Serbia’s caretaker government asked the president on Monday to dissolve parliament and call a new general election.
“This is a new chance to strengthen opportunities to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country, reinforce our economic perspectives through the process of integration with Europe and affirm society’s drive for democracy and positive change,” Tadic said in a statement about the new elections.
The president also called on all candidates in the election campaign to conduct themselves properly and hold the campaign “in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere, so that in the future the government will have stable institutions of authority, which will work effectively on behalf of all Serbian citizens.”
Since Kosovo declared its independence on February 17, the United States and 18 of the 27 EU states have recognized the Republic of Kosovo. However, Russia, China, Spain, Cyprus and several other countries have refused to recognize the province’s independence.
On Tuesday Kostunica said that Serbia’s parliamentary polls will give Serbs the chance to make it clear that Belgrade will only integrate into Europe if Kosovo is part of the country.