RALLY IN BELGRADE: Vučić – As of tonight I am no longer president of the SNS, there will be no transitional government, the people will elect representatives at the polls

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The "Serbia of Hope" rally was held tonight on the plateau in front of the National Assembly in the center of Belgrade.

At the end, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić addressed the gathered citizens, and his speech began with a minute of silence for the victims in OŠ Ribnikar and Mladenovac. 

Speaking about those incidents, Vučić stated: "We have collected more than 50,000 barrels and mine-explosive devices. Think about how many lives we have saved with that, and it is important that the state takes measures."

Regarding the demands made at the protests in Serbia, Vučić called for dialogue and discussion, but stated that there will be no transitional governments.

"As long as I live, I will not sign that for you. The government will be elected at the polls and by the will of the people," Vučić emphasized.

Vučić reminded that he has been at the helm of the Serbian Progressive Party for 11 years and that as of tonight, that will no longer be the case. 

"We have won all elections, we have defeated them because they never had a policy, because they always only thought about how to seize power by force and with the help of someone else from the outside. This is the last evening I address you as president of the SNS, tomorrow someone else will take over my, your, our Serbian Progressive Party, of which I will remain a member, of which I will be a faithful and loyal member," Vučić emphasized.

He pointed out that tomorrow he will be the president of all citizens of Serbia, not the president of a political party.

"Wonderful people will take over the leadership of our party from tomorrow, that is one of the things. But already by Vidovdan, precisely because of the crisis we are in, and I will ask the SNS to be the hub of all this, we are starting to form a Movement for the People and the State in order to have a base, support and foundation to preserve our country in the next two, three crisis years that are decisive for the future of Serbia. I know that this cannot be done without the SNS," Vučić stated.

Earlier, the leader of the SNSD, President of the BiH entity RS Milorad Dodik, also addressed the rally. However, one thing marked his address even before he began speaking. Namely, Dodik was announced as Milan.

 

Dodik in Belgrade announced as MILAN pic.twitter.com/UEeAC5DgSy

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"Some thought that Serbia was weak. But Serbia is not weak, and tonight's gathering shows that we are not weak. Our sorrow is a way to become even stronger. And those who gathered a mob directed against the state will not succeed. I came here to support, on behalf of the RS, a strong, powerful and stable Serbia. A Serbia led by Aleksandar Vučić," Dodik said.

Dodik said that Serbia should and must be respected, and that the Republika Srpska looks up to Serbia.