DSS official: Koštunica stepped down "permanently"

DSS official: Koštunica stepped down "permanently"

BELGRADE -- Vojislav Koštunica has left politics "completely and permanently," the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Vice President Slobodan Samaržić has said.

Speaking for B92 TV on Friday, Samardžić stated that the party "will become relevant after a difficult period of time."

Koštunica, who led the DSS since its was founded in 1992 and in the meantime served as Yugoslav president and Serbian prime minister for two terms, announced he was stepping down after the party failed to cross the five-percent election threshold and gain seats in the new parliament.

According to Samardžić, the party is now facing difficulties when it comes to its funding, and described the circumstances in Serbia as "terrible," but voiced his conviction that the DSS "has a future," adding:

"The election result is inexplicable to us, explanations and real reasons are needed. We had a good campaign, more intensive than ever, people accepted us. We have many hypotheses, but also certain doubts."

He said the party's worst election result since it was founded "caught everyone in the DSS by surprise," and that the prevalent opinion is that "there were no real reasons to receive a smaller percentage (of votes) than in 2012."

Speaking about who was responsible for the result, Samardžić said his party had "neglected some things, such as vote counting," and added "there could be some mistake there," but did not specify what he had in mind.

He said that reasons for his party's poor showing included the SNS campaign, favoritism in the media, and "an interesting situation when it comes to voters, split between those abstaining and those suffering...