Members of the Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) on Thursday failed to elect a chair for the second time.
After the body’s inaugural meeting resumed with a two-hour debate on Thursday, two candidates were nominated: Dubravka Valic Nedeljkovic and Milos Garic. However, Valic Nedeljkovic confirmed to the media that neither candidate secured enough votes after two rounds of balloting.
The meeting was attended by seven of the eight Council members, one member was absent due to illness.
Valic Nedeljkovic said that two rounds of voting for the Council chair were held, but that an agreement was not reached.
“We will continue our work, and the next meeting is scheduled for the second half of August,” she added.
Milos Garic expressed regret that the Council could not resolve its leadership vacancy.
“My disappointment isn’t because I wasn’t elected, but because this is important for REM, for the public, the state, and the media. We failed, and we all feel an immense sense of responsibility; it’s not a comfortable situation, at least not for me. I want to thank the colleagues who nominated me,” Garic said.
N1’s reporter said the meeting was open to the media for nearly two hours, following which Valic Nedeljkovic, who is currently presiding over the meeting, declared a recess before the final vote was held. Much of the meeting was spent debating whether the public should be included in the process.
What happened at the previous meeting?
The Council first failed to elect a chair on July 20 during its first meeting, after two candidates received four votes each – short of the majority required.
That meeting was convened after four Council members who had previously resigned decided to return to the body following the adoption of an authentic interpretation of the Law on Electronic Media.
Source: N1
