Dragan Đilas, leader of Serbia’s opposition Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), has accused President Aleksandar Vučić of misleading citizens after promising last year to resolve the legal status of around 4.8 million illegally constructed properties.
In a statement on Wednesday, Đilas said that fewer than 200,000 applications had been processed so far — less than 9 percent of the total.
“Vučić, as is his usual practice, lied when he promised citizens that their properties would be legalized by the New Year, within 60 days,” Đilas said.
He argued that seven months had passed since the promise without the president offering an apology to the millions of people who, according to Đilas, trusted the pledge and submitted applications for their homes and apartments.
Đilas also recalled that the SSP had warned during the adoption of the “Svoj na svome” law that the legislation could benefit people linked to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) who had allegedly constructed large numbers of buildings without permits.
The opposition leader called for the publication of a list of people whose legalization cases have already been resolved.
“Let the names of everyone whose cases have been resolved and who own more than 500 square meters be published,” Đilas said, arguing that this would show whether ordinary citizens or property developers and people connected to the SNS were among the first to benefit from the process.
The allegations come amid continued political disputes in Serbia over the implementation of the property legalization program and accusations by the opposition that government policies favor politically connected individuals.
