The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (, abbr. LSV) is an autonomist political party in Serbia. Its current leader is Bojan Kostreš, who succeeded Nenad Čanak. They're colloquially known as ligaši (Leaguemen).

History The party was founded by Nenad Čanak on 14 July 1990 in Novi Sad. At the First Party Congress, the LSV adopted the party program, which defined following principles of the party: liberty, equality, justice, and solidarity. At the Second Congress, which was held in July 1997, the LSV adopted a new statute.Enciklopedija Novog Sada, knjiga 13, Novi Sad, 1999, pages 40–41.

In the first years of its existence, the party's activities were mainly directed towards organisation of anti-war actions. Together with other parties, it organised anti-war demonstrations in Vojvodina and publicly opposed mobilisation of Vojvodina citizens for the front lines in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ideology LSV is positioned on the centre-left on the political spectrum. It is mainly orientated towards autonomism, although the party is also social-democratic, and regionalist. It represents itself as a multi-ethnic party, and it previously advocated for the creation of Republic of Vojvodina. It is also supportive of feminism and anti-fascism. It is supportive of accession of Serbia to the European Union.

In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, LSV was associated with the Socialist Group.

Goals The League advocates the "right of autonomous decisions about fundamental affairs of Vojvodina within Serbia", which, according to the League, was abolished after the so-called Yogurt Revolution in 1988 and after constitutional changes from 1990, which, according to the League, diminished the autonomy of Vojvodina to "protocolar minimum".

In December 1998, the League proclaimed that its political goal is establishment of the Republic of Vojvodina within a federalised Serbia. In recent years, the League mostly abandoned the idea of a Republic of Vojvodina, but it still advocated a greater level of autonomy for the province. In November 2011, League official Aleksandra Jerkov stated that "Vojvodina needs more jurisdictions", but that "there is no need for it to be a republic".

Presidents PresidentBirth–DeathTerm startTerm end1Nenad Čanak1959–14 July 199019 November 20222Bojan Kostreš1974–19 November 2022Incumbent

Electoral performance Parliamentary elections In the 1990 Serbian general election, the League supported candidates of the Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia and the Association for Yugoslav Democratic Initiative in several electoral districts.

+ National Assembly of Serbia YearLeader Popular vote % of popular vote # of seats Seat change Coalition Status 1992Nenad Čanak 36,780 0.78% With RS-RK-NSS no seats 1993 41,097 0.96% With RDSV-SJ no seats 1997 112,589 2.72% 3 KV 2000 2,402,387 64.09% 3 DOS 2003 161,765 4.23% 6 ZZT no seats 2007 214,262 5.31% 4 With LDP-GSS-SDU-DHSS 2008 1,590,200 38.42% 1 ZES 2012 863,294 22.07% 2 IZBŽ 2014 204,767 5.70% 3 With NDS-Z-ZZS 2016 189,564 5.02% 2 With SDS-LDP 2020 30,591 0.95% 4 UDS no seats2022 did not participate — — no seats

Provincial elections

In the 2004 provincial election, the LSV was part of the Together for Vojvodina coalition. The coalition won 9.44% of the popular vote in the first-round of voting. The party subsequently participated in post-election provincial government.

In the 2008 provincial election, the LSV was again part of the Together for Vojvodina coalition. The coalition won 8.25% of the popular vote in the first-round of voting, representing a drop of −1.19% from the previous election. The party subsequently participated in post-election provincial government.

Presidential elections + President of Serbia Election year # Candidate 1st round votes % 2nd round votes % Notes 1997 4th Mile Isakov 111,166 2.43 — — Vojvodina Coalition; Election declared invalid due to low turnout 2002 2nd Miroljub Labus 995,200 27.96 1,516,693 31.62 DOS; Election declared invalid due to low turnout 2003 2nd Dragoljub Mićunović 893,906 35.42 — — DOS; Election declared invalid due to low turnout 2008 1st Boris Tadić 1,457,030 35.39 2,304,467 50.31 For a European Serbia 2012 2nd Boris Tadić 989,454 25.31 1,481,952 47.31 Choice for a Better Life 2017 9th Nenad Čanak 41,070 1.12 — — 2022 did not participate — — — —

Positions held Major positions held by League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina members:

President of the Assembly of Vojvodina YearsNenad Čanak2000–2004Bojan Kostreš2004–2008

Gallery

References

External links

Official website