An office intended to strengthen communication between Serbian citizens and members of parliament (MPs) is paying dividends less than a month after opening. A new initiative in Serbia, the nonpartisan office provides a place where constituents can speak individually with their MPs or with office staff well versed in government services.

In just the first few weeks, six cases have been resolved. They varied from a Serbian citizen seeking a lawyer to another looking for help in starting a businesses.

Nearly 10 years after the fall of President Slobodan Milosevic, who was charged with war crimes, Serbia’s economy is in crisis and its prospects for joining the European Union are unclear. At this critical juncture, such connections between elected representatives and their constituents help to demonstrate how democracy can improve their lives.

The office opened April 2 in Leskovac with a ceremony featuring MP Snezana Stojanovic-Plavsic and U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter. The opening also included the deputy speaker of parliament and the mayor of Leskovac – a town of about 160,000 situated 175 miles south of the capital, Belgrade.

Serbia is the latest of several Balkan countries that have opened constituency offices, which, in many cases, provide citizens with their first opportunity to meet and talk with their elected representatives. Similar programs are under way in other countries of the Western Balkans.

The Serbian office is part of a pilot project supported by NDI with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. There are plans for two more constituent offices to open in Serbia in the coming months. NDI has been working in Serbia since 1998, assisting civil society organizations, pro-reform political parties and the parliament in their efforts to build democratic institutions.

Pictured above: U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter and MP Snezana Stojanovic-Plavsic of G17+
open Serbia’s first constituency office, in the town of Leskovac.

–

Published on May 1, 2009