The Serb Radical Party, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the coalition of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) of Vojislav Kostunica and New Serbia (NS) of Velimir Ilic, elected Natasa Jovanovic (SRS), Radojko Obradovic (DSS-NS) and Milutin Mrkonjic (SPS) deputy speakers.
Protesting against Nikolic's election as parliament speaker, the Democratic Party (DS) of Boris Tadic, the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) of Cedomir Jovanovic, and G17 Plus of Mladjan Dinkic, refused to submit their nominations for deputy speakers.
G 17 Plus has not been taking part in parliamentary sessions since Nikolic's election and its officials in the executive authorities today tendered their resignations.
In a debate that preceded the election of the three deputy speakers, representatives of Tadic's Democrats and Jovanovic's Liberals underlined the fact that Serbia was facing the re-introduction of the same system of values that existed in the 1990s, which they said did not reflect the will of the electorate, considering the set-up of the parliament.
Deputies of the DSS of PM Vojislav Kostunica did not say during the debate if there was a possibility for the DSS, the SPS and the Radicals to form a parliamentary majority by Friday in order to elect a prime minister designate.
Serbian President Boris Tadic requested the three parties to inform him by Friday, May 11, if they have a majority in parliament or not. This will determine if a new government can be elected or if on May 14, when the deadline for the formation of a new government expires, Tadic will have to dissolve the parliament and call new elections.
The president of the DS parliamentary club, Milan Markovic, said in parliament that SRS secretary-general Aleksandar Vucic today left for The Hague to discuss with the party leader and Hague tribunal indictee, Vojislav Seselj, the possible formation of a government with Vojislav Kostunica and Socialist Ivica Dacic.
Meanwhile, reactions to Nikolic's election are continuing. A professor at Belgrade's Faculty of Political Science and official in the former government of the late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, Milica Delevic Djilas, was quoted by the media as saying that Serbia was now further away from the European Union than it had been a year ago, when talks on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement were broken off due to lack of cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal.
Apart from the political consequences of Nikolic's election, the economic ones have started to show as well: prices on the stock exchange dropped by as much as 6.5%, and the euro appreciated by more than one dinar. The National Bank of Serbia intervened on the inter-banking foreign exchange market, selling 38.4 million euros to meet demand for foreign currency and prevent major exchange rate oscillations.