Glory To God! Congratulations Serbia!

Constitution supported by 51.46% of citizens
Belgrade, Oct 29, 2006 – The Serbian Electoral Commission stated on Sunday evening that, according to preliminary results, 51.46% of registered voters voted in favour of the new Constitution of Serbia.

Director of the Serbian Statistical Office Dragan Vukmirovic told a press conference that 53.66% of the total number of registered voters went to the polls. It is 10.6% of the processed electorate in Serbia, or 25% of polling stations, while there are still no data from Kosovo-Metohija. President of the Serbian Electoral Commission Mihailo Rulic said that the referendum passed without major irregularities that could influence its outcome. Rulic underlined that these are preliminary results, and that the final will be released within the deadline set by law. He said that a press conference will be held tomorrow at 11 am at which new data will be presented from the polling stations that will have been processed by that time.

Support to Constitution expressed at referendum Serbia’s victory
Belgrade, Oct 29, 2006 – Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said at a press conference on Sunday evening that the confirmation of the new Constitution at the referendum is Serbia’s victory, the victory of its maturity and strength because the Constitution protects its unity.

Kostunica congratulated all citizens of Serbia, and especially Serbs from Kosovo-Metohija, the adoption of the supreme legal act, and thanked them for having supported the adoption of the new Constitution. He said that this is the moment in which Serbia proves its legitimacy as a state before the entire world, by rounding off its statehood, making it clear that it protects its unity, showing that our orientation is that Serbia be a democratic and legal state, that Kosovo-Metohija is an integral part of Serbia, and finally, that this Constitution contains elements that will enable the country’s economic development and better life of citizens. We saw how people’s representatives at one moment showed unity and responsibility in Serbian parliament by voting for the Constitution, Kostunica recalled and added that the same thing has been repeated at polling places, which is a really big moment for Serbia. According to him, this is a historic moment and the beginning of a new period in Serbia’s development, this is a moment when Serbia celebrates with reason because of a big job that all of us have done together. Speaking about the turnout of voters, the Prime Minister said that that is a percentage that reflects the moment, lists of voters, their composition and the circumstances. I think that this result is more than satisfactory… It is more than encouraging, legitimate and it enables us to live a better tomorrow, the Prime Minister said.He said that there is no country which checked the mood of its public in the way Serbia has done with the new Constitution – first with the voting in parliament, and then with its confirmation at the referendum with a majority vote. He said that is something we could be really proud of and something that guarantees the Constitution’s quality and longevity. Kostunica said that the next big step is applying the Constitution in practice. That will happen when it is proclaimed in parliament, when the law on its implementation is adopted and when the institutions start to be created. According to him, that cannot happen overnight because the entire system starts to change and the new one is created. Kostunica said that the new Constitution will not be denied or ascribed to a political party, government or person, because it will have the support of the people of Serbia behind it. He added that Serbia is stronger with the new Constitution because it makes it clear that it is a democratic and legal state, and referring to international law, says once more that Kosovo-Metohija is an integral part of Serbia.