Brnabic: New gov't by midnight of April 18 or parliamentary elections in June

BELGRADE - Under the law, a new Serbian government must be formed by the midnight of April 18, otherwise the president of the Republic will have the duty of dissolving the parliament and calling parliamentary elections, Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday.

At a press conference after the parliament took note of PM Milos Vucevic's resignation, Brnabic said the government's term had officially ceased.

"Pursuant to Article 132 of the Constitution, the Serbian parliament took note of the PM's resignation, whereby the term of the Milos Vucevic government officially ceased. The time frame for forming a new government begins tomorrow, March 20," Brnabic said.

Under the Constitution, President Aleksandar Vucic is the one who needs to launch further procedure and put forward a new PM-designate, she said.

"The deadline for forming a new government is midnight of April 18. Vucic needs to put forward a PM-designate, and the PM-designate needs to put forward the new government's programme and members to the parliament, after which MPs will vote on that," Brnabic said.

In case a new government is not elected by the April 18 deadline, the president has the duty to dissolve the parliament and call elections, which, in this case, would take place in early June, she added.