Civic Democratic Party (Serbia)

The Civic Democratic Party (Serbian Cyrillic: Грађанска демократска партија, romanized: Građanska Demokratska Partija; abbr. ГДП / GDP) was a Serbian political party that existed from 2023 to 2024. It joined the Serbia Against Violence (SPN) coalition on 3 November 2023 and took part in Serbia's December 2023 elections.^[1] Its leader was Dr. Miroslav Ilić.^[2]

The GDP was closely associated with the Movement of Free Citizens (PSG). All GDP-endorsed candidates who were elected in the 2023 Serbian parliamentary election and the 2023 Belgrade City Assembly election were members of the PSG, and both of the GDP-endorsed candidates elected in the 2023 Vojvodina provincial election later joined the PSG. (The PSG was not a registered political party at the time of the 2023 elections and, from the standpoint of Serbia's electoral law, could not formally endorse its own candidates.)

The GDP merged outright into the Movement of Free Citizens after the 2023 elections, giving its party registration to the PSG.

History

The Civic Democratic Party came into existence in late 2023, when Vojvodina's Party (VP) permitted the new party to take its official registration.^[3] In October 2023, the GDP entered an alliance with the Movement of Free Citizens and various citizens' groups in Vojvodina.^[4][5]

When the GDP joined the Serbia Against Violence coalition the following month, Novi Sad's Radio 021 observed that the party was not generally known to the public.^[6]

2023 Serbian parliamentary election

The GDP received nine places on the SPN's electoral list in the 2023 Serbian parliamentary election.^[7] The list won sixty-five seats, and the three GDP-endorsed candidates who appeared in the top sixty-five positions were elected: Anna Oreg (#15), Pavle Grbović (#34), and Vladimir Pajić (#50).^[8][9] All were members of the Movement of Free Citizens.

2023 Vojvodina provincial election

The SPN coalition won thirty seats in the 2023 Vojvodina provincial election. Two GDP-endorsed candidates were elected: party leader Miroslav Ilić (#10) and Svetlana Kozić (#27). Kozić was the leader of the local Kikinda political initiative "Banat je u pravu" (Banat Is Right), which was also aligned with the PSG.^[10][11]

After the GDP merged into the Movement of Free Citizens, Ilić became the leader of the PSG's Vojvodina provincial board, and Kozić became the leader of its municipal board in Kikinda.^[12][13]

2023 local elections

The SPN coalition won forty-three seats in the 2023 Belgrade City Assembly election. Three of the coalition's successful candidates were PSG members who held endorsements from the GDP: Stefan Simić (#12), Jelena Banjac (#26), and Ivana Mandić (#39).^{[14][15][16][17]}

Candidates endorsed by the GDP were also elected in other cities.

After the 2023 elections

In early 2024, the Civic Democratic Party permitted the Movement of Free Citizens to take over its party registration and ceased to exist as a separate organization.^[18]

References