Acting Supreme State Prosecutor, Veselin Vuckovic, joined a political campaign against the Law on financing political parties, instead of investigating drastic cases of political corruption, which confirms that the prosecutorial organization is simply party branch of the DPS.
However, the fact that the SSP is so openly involved in manipulations of the DPS and institutions which are under his control, shows that that party is in panic because the new Law finally took away from they mechanisms that have been for decades used for vote buying with money from the state budget.
Veselin Vuckovic yesterday announced that the Council of Prosecutors seek the opinion of the SEC before it announces a competition for a new SSP, supposedly to ensure that that institution does not break the Law on financing political parties.
However, the SSP with the prosecution does not sign a contract of employment for a few months, which the Law on financing political parties prohibits in the pre-election period, but the head of the prosecutor’s office, according to constitutionally defined procedure, elects for a term of five years. In addition, the Law on financing political parties in any way does not consider the issue of election or appointment of persons on the positions, as well not on the position of SSP’s.
That means that the Acting SSP, Veselin Vuckovic, either does not know to read the law which has been clear to every elementary educated lawyer, or he intentionally joined the party campaign of the DPS, which as a goal has to create an atmosphere for the repeal of the law on financing political parties. Whether it’s the dramatic ignorance or blatant corruption, it is certainly disappointing for prosecutorial organization headed by Vuckovic, which should be fighting against vote buying rather than to accomplice in covering up criminal acts and disavowal of this law.
Because of that the Acting SSP should restrain from malicious “interpretation” of the Law on financing political parties and artificially atmosphere heating created by the DPS which drastically violate the rights of vulnerable groups, only to regain mechanisms for buying votes.
We remind Vuckovic that it was he himself, actually his failure to act, one of the reasons why is adopted the new Law on financing political parties. In fact, because the prosecution did not show even basic political will to prosecute actors in a scandal “Snapshot” and perpetrators of crimes against electoral law, the EU and its experts have supported stricter solutions of the new Law on financing of political parties in response to the misuse of state resources for election campaign.
We invite Veselin Vuckovic to stop undermining the Law on financing political parties, and, instead of leading political campaigns, to dedicate himself to investigation of criminal offenses against the electoral law, for which so far had no personal or professional courage.
Vuk Maras
Director of Monitoring Program
