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The politics of Vojvodina function within the framework of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The province has a legislative assembly composed of 120 proportionally elected members, and a government composed of a president and cabinet ministers. The current political status of Vojvodina is regulated by the Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina from 2008.
The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was established in October 1944 and its political status was regulated on September 1, 1945, as an autonomous entity within Serbia, although it had several political predecessors such as Serbian Vojvodina (1848–1849), Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849–1860), Banat, Bačka and Baranja (1918-1919), and Danube Banovina (1929–1941).
In 1945, the amount of its autonomy was limited. Vojvodina's name was changed on April 7, 1963, to the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Under the 1974 constitution Vojvodina obtained extensive autonomy, and became one of the subjects of the Yugoslav federation.
On July 5, 1989, this extensive autonomy was largely revoked by Milošević's regime and the amount of autonomy of Vojvodina became nominal and greatly limited. On March 28, 1990, the name of the province was reverted to Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
After the Bulldozer Revolution on October 5, 2000, and change of the regime in the country, the amount of autonomy of Vojvodina was increased and was regulated by the Omnibus law from 2002. The new constitution of Serbia from 2006 did not change the status of Vojvodina regulated in 2002, although it further defined the provincial budget.
On October 18, 2008, the Assembly of Vojvodina adopted the Statute of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. [1] The Executive Council was renamed Government of Vojvodina consisting of the president, four vice-presidents and members.
Omnibus law (Serbian : Omnibus zakon, Омнибус закон) was a law adopted in 2002 that regulated the autonomous status of Vojvodina within Serbia. [2] The law affirmed the jurisdiction of provincial administration over culture, education, language policy, media, health, sanitary survey, health assurance, pension and invalid assurance, social protection, juristical family protection, social care of the children, soldier and invalid protection, protection of civil invalids of war, ecology, urbanism, construction industry, residential section, employment, economy, mining and energetics, agriculture, stock reserves, tourism, sports, and other sections.
The movement for autonomy of Vojvodina was always led by local Serbs, who were largest ethnic group in the region. The roots of the autonomist movement date to 1691, when the Habsburg Emperor recognized the right of the Serbs to have one separate autonomous voivodship within the Habsburg monarchy. The autonomy, however, was not realised at that time, and in 1790 (almost 100 years after the promise of the emperor), the Serbs organized their national assembly in Timișoara (today in Romania), where they asked for autonomy. These demands were, however, rejected by the Austrians.
In 1848, as a response to the policy of the revolutionary Hungarian government, the Serbs, in accordance with the right given in 1691, proclaimed the creation of an autonomous region named the Serbian Vojvodina. This time, the autonomy was recognized by the Habsburg emperor, and in November 1849, a separate Habsburg province named the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was created as a political successor of the Serbian Vojvodina.
However, since the policy of the Habsburgs towards the Hungarians had changed, the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was abolished in 1860, and most of its territory was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. As a response to the abolition of the voivodship, the Serbs in 1861 organized national assembly known as the "Blagoveštenski Sabor", where they asked for reestablishment of the voivodship. The constitution of the voivodship was also adopted on the assembly. The rulers of the Monarchy, however, did not accept these demands of the Serbs. Instead, the autonomy was in 1867 given to the Hungarians, and the Serbs found themselves in the Hungarian part of the Monarchy. The political struggle for the autonomy of Vojvodina, however, was continued by the Serb deputies in the parliament of the Kingdom of Hungary, until the end of the Monarchy in 1918.
A new opportunity for the autonomy of Vojvodina arose in 1918, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. On November 25, 1918, the Great people's assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs from Vojvodina decided to join this region to the Kingdom of Serbia, as well as to form a new autonomous government of Vojvodina known as the People's administration for Banat, Bačka and Baranja. Although, the government in Belgrade accepted the decision that Vojvodina join to Serbia, it did not recognize the People's administration. The People's administration was active until March 11, 1919, when it held its last session.
Since autonomy was not realised, and the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was a centralised country, the new autonomist movement emanated, again led by local Serbs. The Danube Banovina, a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia formed in 1929, did not have a large degree of autonomy, thus the autonomist movement was also active after the creation of this province. The idea of an autonomous Vojvodina was also accepted by the communist party, and after occupation of Vojvodina by the Axis Powers in 1941, the communist party and its partisan resistance movement started a struggle against the occupation. The aim of this struggle, as it was presented by the communist party, was a future autonomous Vojvodina in which all ethnic groups would be equal. The Serbs, who were the main victims of the Axis regimes, as well as other peoples of Vojvodina, participated in this struggle, and after the end of the war, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was established.
After much of the autonomy of Vojvodina was revoked by Milošević's regime in 1989, the new movement for autonomy of the province emanated, supported by both the local Serbs, and the ethnic minorities. The view of the autonomist movement is that the revoking of the autonomy in 1989 had destroyed the economy of Vojvodina, thus for the improvement of the economy, Vojvodina need more autonomy. Unlike the political movement of Kosovar Albanians, the autonomist movement in Vojvodina never aimed for separation from Serbia, but only a significant level of autonomy for Vojvodina within Serbia.
On January 28, 2013, as an answer to the proposal of the Third Serbia political organization from Novi Sad to abolish the autonomy of Vojvodina [3] [4] the Vojvodina's Party presented a message "the Republic of Vojvodina" in Novi Sad. [5] However, both political organizations are lacking any wider support among population of Vojvodina.
The Assembly of Vojvodina is the provincial legislature composed of 120 proportionally elected members. The current members were elected in the 2016 provincial elections:
The Government of Vojvodina is the executive administrative body composed of a president and cabinet ministers. The incumbent president and cabinet were elected in the 2016 elections. Igor Mirović (Serbian Progressive Party) was elected president.
National political parties popular throughout Serbia, which have a significant popular support in Vojvodina:
Regionalist political parties in Vojvodina advocate greater autonomy for Vojvodina within Serbia. Banat Forum is a local regionalist political movement in Banat, which advocating the special political status of Banat within Vojvodina.
National minority political parties in Vojvodina:
The most popular of those is Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians. This party advocating more autonomy for Vojvodina, but also advocating the creation of Hungarian Regional Autonomy (Mađarska regionalna samouprava), a separate autonomous region in northern part of Vojvodina. This autonomous region would include the nine municipalities of northern Vojvodina: Subotica, Bačka Topola, Mali Iđoš, Kanjiža, Senta, Ada, Bečej, Čoka, and Novi Kneževac. The administrative centre of the region would be Subotica, while the region itself would be part of Vojvodina and Serbia.
Provincial elections are held in Vojvodina every 4 years.
In 2016 provincial elections, coalition of parties led by the Serbian Progressive Party won the elections and formed new Vojvodina government. Other parties that are participating in the government are Socialist Party of Serbia and Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians. Igor Mirović from Serbian Progressive Party was again elected as president of Vojvodinian government, while president of Vojvodinian parliament remained István Pásztor from Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians.
In 2003 an opinion poll was conducted, in which the citizens of Vojvodina answered the following question: "What status of Vojvodina is most acceptable for you?". The answers were: [6]
According to the poll, 75.5% of citizens supported the autonomy of Vojvodina within Serbia, while 54.2% supported more autonomy than Vojvodina had at the time. Some 6.5% of citizens saw Vojvodina as a republic within Serbia, 5.8% thought that autonomy should be abolished, and 5.0% saw Vojvodina as an independent state. 7.2% did not have an opinion or thought otherwise.
Vojvodina, officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital Belgrade and the Sava and Danube Rivers. The administrative centre, Novi Sad, is the second-largest city in Serbia.
First round of the Vojvodina provincial elections was held on September 19, 2004, at the same time when the local elections were held in the whole of Serbia.
Srbobran is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town is located on the north bank of the Danube-Tisa-Danube canal. The town has a population of 10,496, and the municipality of 14,357 according to 2022 census.
The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians is a regionalist political party in Serbia, representing the Hungarian minority.
The Serbian Vojvodina was a short-lived self-proclaimed Serb autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (official) Austrian province named Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar.
The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar or Serbian Voivodeship and the Banate of Temes, known simply as the Serbian Voivodeship, was a crownland of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1861.
Vojvodina is an autonomous province located in northern Serbia. It consists of the Pannonian Plain in the south, and the Danube and Sava rivers in the north.
The Hungarian Regional Autonomy is a proposed territorial autonomy for ethnic Hungarians in Serbia, located in the northern part of Vojvodina province.
The Serbs of Vojvodina are the largest ethnic group in this northern province of Serbia. For centuries, Vojvodina was ruled by several European powers, but Vojvodina Serbs never assimilated into cultures of those countries. Thus, they have consistently been a recognized indigenous ethnic minority with its own culture, language and religion. According to the 2022 census, there were 1,190,785 Serbs in Vojvodina or 68.43% of the population of the province.
Markovac is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Vršac municipality, in the South Banat District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority. Over the last half a century, the village's population has steadily declined from 1042 in 1961 to less than a quarter of that, 249 people in the 2011 census.
The Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians is a political party in Serbia, representing the Hungarian minority.
Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians is a political party in Serbia representing the Hungarian minority. It advocates for a "personal autonomy" for Hungarians in Vojvodina. It is led by Béla Csorba.
Provincial elections were held for the unicameral Assembly of Serbia's northern Autonomous Province of Vojvodina on 11 May 2008, with a second-round to be held on 25 May 2008. They were scheduled by the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Oliver Dulić on 29 December 2007, as required per the Constitutional Law adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia on 30 September 2006 that proclaimed the new Constitution.
May Assembly was the national assembly of the Serbs in Austrian Empire, held on 1 and 3 (O.S.) [13 and 15 (N.S.)] May 1848 in Sremski Karlovci, during which the Serbs proclaimed autonomous Serbian Vojvodina. This action was later recognized by the supreme Austrian authority in Vienna. The May Assembly was part of the European Revolutions of 1848.
The Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, enacted in its contemporary form in 2014, stands as the paramount legal document outlining the fundamental principles governing Vojvodina within the framework of the Constitution of Serbia and national laws. This statute, adopted by the Assembly of Vojvodina with the approval of the National Assembly of Serbia, delineates the region's autonomy, with specific provisions related to various aspects of it. Vojvodina, a region with a rich historical and cultural tradition, has experienced varying degrees of autonomy over the years, influenced by geopolitical shifts and historical events.
Provincial elections were held in Vojvodina in May 2012. The first round was held on 6 May, while the second round was held on 20 May.
Áron Csonka is a Serbian politician. An ethnic Hungarian, he has been the leader of the Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians. He was a member of the Assembly of Vojvodina from 2016 to 2020.
Mihály Nyilas is an ethnic Hungarian politician in Serbia. He was the mayor and Kanjiža from 2008 to 2014 and was a deputy prime minister of Vojvodina from 2014 to 2020. He is now a secretary of state in Serbia's ministry of justice. Nyilas is a member of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians.
Annamária Vicsek is a Serbian politician from the country's Hungarian community. She has been a member of the European Parliament since July 2024, serving with Hungary's national delegation as a member of Fidesz. She previously served two terms in the Serbian national assembly and was a secretary of state in Serbia's education ministry from 2016 to 2024. In Serbian politics, Vicsek is a member of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), which is aligned with Fidesz.
Borisz Bájity is a Serbian politician from the country's Hungarian community. He is a delegate in Serbia's Hungarian National Council and has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since February 2024. Bájity is a member of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ).
