Ahmedin Škrijelj (; ; born 8 August 1982) is a Serbian politician from the country's Bosniak community. He was the deputy mayor of Novi Pazar from 2012 to 2013 and has served in the Serbian parliament since February 2024. Škrijelj is a member of the Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak (SDA).
Early life and career Škrijelj was born in Novi Pazar, in the Sandžak region of what was then the Socialist Republic of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to an ethnic Albanian family from the Shkreli tribe. He received a bachelor's degree in law and economics and afterward studied for a master's degree in international law at the University of Kragujevac. He holds a master of political science degree.Ahmedin Škrijelj – Zamenik gradonačelnika Novog Pazara, , City of Novi Pazar, accessed 19 May 2024.AHMEDIN ŠKRIJELJ, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 19 May 2024.
Politician Early years in Novi Pazar Škrijelj appeared in the thirty-first position on the SDA's electoral list for the Novi Pazar municipal assembly in the 2004 Serbian local elections and was given a mandate after the list won a plurality victory with twenty-one out of forty-seven seats.Službeni List (Opštine Novi Pazar), Volume 11 Number 10 (5 September 2004), p. 2.Službeni List (Opštine Novi Pazar), Volume 11 Number 12 (23 September 2004), p. 2.Službeni List (Opštine Novi Pazar), Volume 11 Number 15 (27 December 20040, p. 3. (In the 2004 local elections, one-third of assembly mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order while the remaining two-thirds were distributed amongst other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. Škrijelj received one of the SDA's "optional" mandates.)Law on Local Elections (June 2002) , Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 7 April 2024.
Mayors were directly elected in the 2004 local elections, resulting in a divided administration in Novi Pazar: SDA leader Sulejman Ugljanin won the mayoral contest, but the rival Sandžak Democratic Party (SDP) was able to form a coalition government with smaller parties in the local assembly.Direktorijum lokalnih samouprava u Srbiji, Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID), September 2005, p. 232. Škriljelj served as a member of the opposition in his first term. The political climate in the city was extremely tense in this period.
The government of Serbia introduced a provisional administration to Novi Pazar on 7 April 2006 on the grounds that the assembly did not adopt a budget within the legal deadline. A new assembly election was scheduled for 10 September 2006."Novi izbori za odbornike u opštini Novi Pazar", , Glas javnosti, 11 July 2006, accessed 25 December 2022. Zekirija Dugopoljac of the Reformists of Sandžak was appointed to lead a five-member provisional council responsible for carrying out the work of the assembly; Škrijelj was one of the council's members.PRIVREMENI ORGAN, , Municipality of Novi Pazar, 30 September 2006, accessed 17 May 2026. When the assembly vote took place, the SDA won a majority victory with twenty-seven seats.Novi Pazar,11. septembar, , Municipality of Novi Pazar, 30 September 2006, accessed 17 May 2026. Škrijelj was again included on the SDA's list and was elected for a second term.SKUPSTINA OPSTINE NOVI PAZAR, , Municipality of Novi Pazar, accessed 19 May 2024.
Serbia abandoned the direct election of mayors with the 2008 local elections; since this time, mayors have been chosen by the elected members of local assemblies.See Law on Local Elections (2007) , made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 19 May 2024. Škrijelj once again appeared on the SDA's list for Novi Pazar in 2008 and received a mandate for a third term when the list won eighteen seats.SKUPŠTINA GRADA, , City of Novi Pazar, accessed 19 May 2024. The SDP's alliance won the election with twenty-three seats and formed a coalition government with a local alliance of Serb parties, and the SDA returned to its role in opposition."Novi Pazar dobio gradonačelnika", Radio Television of Serbia, 7 July 2008, accessed 15 November 2022.
Škrijlej also received the twenty-first position on the SDA-led Bosniak List for a European Sandžak in the 2008 Serbian parliamentary election, which was held concurrently with the local vote.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (6 БОШЊАЧКА ЛИСТА ЗА ЕВРОПСКИ САНЏАК - ДР СУЛЕЈМАН УГЉАНИН), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 19 May 2024. The list won two seats, and he was not chosen for a mandate. (From 2000 to 2011, mandates in Serbian parliamentary elections were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Škrijelj could have been included in the Bosniak List's assembly delegation despite his relatively low list position, though ultimately he was not.)Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 7 April 2024.11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 19 May 2024.
In January 2011, Škrijelj publicly urged the SDP to form a new government with the SDA in Novi Pazar, citing a recent alliance of the parties in Sjenica."Serbia: Party invites ex-rival to 'reshuffle' authorities in Sandzak town," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 11 January 2011 (Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1832gmt 11 Jan 11).
Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that all assembly mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.Law on the Election of Members of the Parliament (2000, as amended 2011) (Articles 88 & 92) made available via LegislationOnline, , accessed 6 June 2021. Škrijelj appeared in the second position on the SDA's list for Novi Pazar in the 2012 local elections and was re-elected when the list won fourteen seats.Službeni List (Grada Novog Pazara), Volume 19 Number 5 (20 April 2012), p. 16.Službeni List (Grada Novog Pazara), Volume 19 Number 7 (10 May 2012), p. 3. He also appeared in the fifth position on the SDA's list in the concurrent 2012 parliamentary election and was not elected when the list won two mandates.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (11 Странка демократске акције Санџака - др Сулејман Угљанин Stranka demokratske akcije Sandzaka - dr. Sulejman Ugljanin), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
The SDP's alliance narrowly won the 2012 city election in Novi Pazar but fell well short of a majority and ultimately formed a grand coalition with the SDA. Škrijelj was chosen as deputy mayor on 15 June 2012.Službeni List (Grada Novog Pazara), Volume 19 Number 8 (15 June 2012), p. 6. The alliance between the two historical rivals did not last long, however, and in February 2013 the SDP formed a new governing coalition without the SDA. Škrijelj left office on 21 February 2013, remarking that any SDA officials not formally dismissed by the new city administration would resign out of party solidarity.S. Novosel, "Privremena podrška protiv prinudne uprave", Danas, 28 February 2013, accessed 19 May 2024.Službeni List (Grada Novog Pazara), Volume 20 Number 3 (18 June 2013), p. 229.
Škrijelj appeared in the eighth position on the SDA's list in the 2014 Serbian parliamentary election and was not elected when the list won three mandates.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (10 СДА Санџака - др Сулејман Угљанин SDA Sandzaka - dr. Sulejman Uglјanin), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
Bosniak National Council Prior to 2010, Serbia's national minority councils were chosen by electoral colleges of community representatives. Škrijelj was an elector for the Bosniak National Council (BNV) in this period.Избори за народне посланике ELEKTORI BOŠNJAČKOG NACIONALNOG VIJEĆA U SRBIJI I CRNOJ GORI, , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 19 May 2024. It will be noted that the council was overseen by the state union of Serbia and Montenegro until the union's dissolution in 2006. The Serbian government introduced direct elections for the BNV and most other national councils in 2010.
On 17 November 2014, Škrijelj was chosen as secretary of the BNV.Sekretar, , Bosniak National Council, accessed 20 October 2024. He held his role until late 2017, when he was replaced by Mirza Hajdinović.Sekretar, , Bosniak National Council, accessed 20 October 2024.
Škrijelj received the largely honorary thirty-fifth and final position on a SDA-affiliated list in the 2018 BNV election.Избори за чланове националних савета националних мањина 2018. године, 4. новембар 2018. године – Проглашене изборне листе (Национални савет БОШЊАЧКЕ националне мањине), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 17 May 2024.Избори за чланове националних савета националних мањина 2018. године, 4. новембар 2018. године – Укупни резултати избора за националне савете националних мањина (Национални савет БОШЊАЧКЕ националне мањине), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 20 October 2024. The list won fourteen seats, and he was not elected. After the election, the SDA and SDP joined forces to govern the council, and SDA delegate Esad Džudžo was chosen as council president.Filip Rudic, "Election Sees Power Shift in Serbia’s Bosniak Council", Balkan Insight, 26 November 2018, accessed 19 May 2024. Škrijelj became the legal representative of the SDA's council group.
In June 2019, the BNV presented an address to the governments of Serbia and Montenegro calling for the Sandžak to receive special self-governing status. Džudžo distanced himself from the address, saying that it had been made without his knowledge or support. Subsequently, SDA leader Sulejman Ugljanin endorsed the call for special status, and some leading SDA officials called for Džudžo to resign. During this period, Škrijelj accused Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić and his administration of undermining the Bosniak community's legitimate requests and described Džudžo as an enabler of the government's policy. Džudžo, for his part, rejected the calls to resign and described the special status initiative as the work of a pro-Albanian faction operating within the SDA.Slavka Bakračević, "Džudžo: Smenjuje me albanski lobi u SDA", Politika, 19 June 2019, accessed 19 May 2024. The BNV ultimately removed Džudžo as leader and replaced him with Jasmina Curić,"Curić nova predsednica BNV, Džudžo razrešen", Danas, 24 June 2019, accessed 19 May 2024. although the special status initiative never gained much traction.
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