Petar Petrović (; born 5 May 1955)"Reformisti - socijaldemokratske partije Vojvodine - Srbije, Miodrag - Mile Isakov", B92, 10 December 2003, accessed 19 January 2025. is a Serbian journalist and politician. He was a member of the Serbian parliament from 1991 to 1993 and a deputy speaker of the Novi Sad city assembly from 2000 to 2004. Petrović was for many years a member of the Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia (SRSJ) and the successor Reformist Democratic Party of Vojvodina (RDSV), which was renamed as the Reformists of Vojvodina (RV) in 2000. In 2021, he joined the Movement for Reversal (PzP).
Early life and career In a 2021 Facebook post, PzP leader Janko Veselinović noted that Petrović was born in Sremska Mitrovica, in what was then the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the People's Republic of Serbia, Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Petrović graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences and began working at TV Novi Sad in 1981, later becoming editor for its documentary section and editor-in-chief of its news program.Janko Veselinović, "Od danas je sa nama i Petar Petrović", Facebook posting, 17 December 2021, accessed 19 January 2025.
Petrović was fired as editor-in-chief of TV Novi Sad in 1990, at a time when Slobodan Milošević was establishing his authoritarian rule over Serbia.Steven Erlanger, "Yugoslav Opposition Preparing for a Risky Showdown", , New York Times, 1 October 2000, accessed 19 January 2025.
Politician Member of the National Assembly (1991–93) Petrović joined Yugoslavian prime minister Ante Marković's Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia when multi-party politics was re-introduced to Serbia in 1990. He was elected to Serbia's national assembly in the 1990 Serbian parliamentary election, winning in Novi Sad's first division. The overall results of the election were disappointing for Marković's party, which won only two seats in total. Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) won a majority victory, and Petrović served in opposition when the assembly convened in 1991. He often spoke on media freedom and related issues, and some of his speeches were published in pamphlet form."Petrovic, Petar", Republika [catalogue of zines for 1991], accessed 19 January 2025. In 1992, the Vojvodina branch of the Union of Reform Forces was restructured as the Reformist Democratic Party of Vojvodina.
During the 1991–93 parliament, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) collapsed, and the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s began. In April 1992, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro established the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), and the first elections for the new federal parliament were scheduled for the following month. Petrović said that the RDSV's participation in the elections was conditional on international recognition of the new state.Milan Milošević, "Agreement or Competition", Vreme, 4 May 1992, accessed 19 January 2025. Ultimately, the FRY was not permitted to join the United Nations (UN) due to the insistence by Slobodan Milošević and his allies that it be recognized as the legal successor to the SFRY. Most opposition parties, including the RDSV, boycotted the May 1992 Yugoslavian parliamentary election.
The 1990 Serbian parliamentary election was the last in which members were elected for single-member constituencies; all parliamentary elections since this time have taken place under proportional representation. In 1992, Serbia adopted a system wherein one third of the assembly mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists in numerical order and the remaining two thirds were assigned to other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions.Guide to the Early Election , Ministry of Information of the Republic of Serbia, December 1992, made available by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, accessed 14 July 2017. The RDSV contested the 1992 Serbian parliamentary election in the Novi Sad division in an alliance with the Democratic Party (DS), and Petrović appeared in the fourth position on their combined list.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (6 Нови Сад), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024. The alliance won two seats in the division; the lead candidate was automatically elected, and the "optional" mandate was assigned to the second candidate.Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 20. и 27. децембра 1992. године и 3. јануара 1993. године, , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.Službeni Glasnik (Republike Srbije), Volume 49 Number 7 (25 January 1993), pp. 193-194. Petrović's term ended when the new assembly convened in January 1993.
The RDSV contested the 1993 Serbian parliamentary election as part of the Democratic Coalition for Vojvodina, which also included the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) and the Party of Yugoslavs (SJ). Petrović appeared in the third position on their list for Novi Sad.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (6 Нови Сад), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024. The list did not cross the electoral threshold for assembly representation.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године – РЕЗУЛТАТИ ИЗБОРА (Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 19. и 26. децембра 1993. године и 5. јануара 1994. године), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 February 2024.
Novi Sad city politician (2000–04) After withdrawing from active political life for a time, Petrović became re-engaged with the RDSV in 1998."Kadrovska 'obnova' u toku", Naša borba, 11 March 1998, accessed 19 January 2025. The party, renamed as the Reformists of Vojvodina, joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) in 2000. The DOS was a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties opposed to the continued rule of Slobodan Milošević and his allies.
Milošević faced a significant challenge from DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election. After the first round, the federal election commission ruled that Koštunica had fallen just short of the majority he needed to win outright and avoid a runoff vote with Milošević. Opposition leaders charged electoral fraud, claiming that Koštunica had received more than fifty-two per cent of the vote. This led to a standoff between government and opposition forces.
The Yugoslavian presidential election took place concurrently with the 2000 Serbian local elections, in which Petrović was elected to the Novi Sad city assembly as a DOS candidate. Interviewed by The New York Times after the vote, he called for Serbians to rise up collectively in order to bring down Milošević and his allies. He dismissed calls for a general strike by saying, "The idea of telling people to stop work and drink coffee is funny here. That's all anyone has been doing for 10 years!" He instead called for the blocking of roads and cities.Steven Erlanger, "Yugoslav Opposition Preparing for a Risky Showdown", , New York Times, 1 October 2000, accessed 19 January 2025. Milošević's government ultimately fell from power on 5 October 2000 in the face of mass protests.
The DOS coalition won a landslide victory in Novi Sad in the 2000 local elections, taking fifty-nine out of seventy seats.Izbori, 2000. Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, pp. 46-47. After the election, Petrović was chosen as one of the deputy speakers of the assembly.PREDSEDNIK I POTPREDSEDNICI SKUPSTINE GRADA, , City of Novi Sad, accessed 19 January 2025.
The DOS subsequently dissolved, and the Reformists of Vojvodina contested the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election in an alliance with the Social Democratic Party of Vojvodina. Petrović appeared in the fourth position on their coalition list, which did not cross the threshold for assembly representation.Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (14. РЕФОРМИСТИ - СОЦИЈАЛДЕМОКРАТСКЕ ПАРТИЈЕ ВОЈВОДИНЕ - СРБИЈЕ, МИОДРАГ - МИЛЕ ИСАКОВ), , Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024. The Reformists later contested the 2004 Serbian local elections as part of the Clean Hands of Novi Sad coalition, which fell just below the threshold.Lokalni Izbori – Republika Srbija; Lokalni Izbori 2004; Bureau of Statistics, Republic of Serbia; pp. 12, 63-64; Izbori za odbornike u skupštini grada Novog Sada, , City Electoral Commission of Novi Sad, 16 September 2004, accessed 23 July 2021. Petrović's term in the city assembly ended in 2004.
In 2010, Petrović argued for Vojvodina to be designated as a federal unit within the Republic of Serbia and for the Serbian constitution to be amended to permit this outcome."Reformisti za Vojvodinu republiku", Radio Television of Vojvodina, 16 November 2010, accessed 19 January 2025.
Movement for Reversal Petrović joined the Movement for Reversal in 2021. In January 2022, he became a member of its political council."Formiran Politički savet Pokreta za preokret", Direktno, 17 January 2022, accessed 19 January 2025.
Electoral Record National Assembly of Serbia
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