The Liberal Democratic Party (, abbr. LDP) is a liberal political party in Serbia. It is led by Čedomir Jovanović.

History The Liberal Democratic Party was founded on 5 November 2005 by former members of the Democratic Party, led by Čedomir Jovanović, who were expelled in a party purge in 2004. Jovanović had become critical of the new direction of the Democratic Party and its newly elected president, Boris Tadić. The LDP gained its first seat in parliament after Đorđe Đukić defected from the Democratic Party. Members of the foundation board were: Nenad Prokić, Nikola Samardžić, Branislav Lečić and Đorđe Đukić. in 2007 the Civic Alliance of Serbia merged into the LDP. The LDP had a long-standing relationship with the Social Democratic Union and League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina.

LDP's activity decreased following the 2018 Belgrade City Assembly election, mainly due to the size of the party's debt. As of November 2023, LDP is in debt of , approximately around 2 million euros.

Ideology LDP is a liberal party, and it is supportive of secularism and multiculturalism. It has been also described as progressive and social liberal. The LDP is one of the few political parties in Serbia to actively support Serbia's membership into NATO and the independence of Kosovo. The LDP is also highly supportive of LGBT rights in Serbia.LDP: Govt. must protect Pride Parade b92.net Regarding the economy, it is classical-liberal, market-orientated, and supports privatisation, although it is also in favour of social welfare. Additionally, it economic beliefs been described as neoliberal, libertarian, and conservative-liberal.

Its political positions have been described as centrist, although its social policies are positioned on the left-wing, while it is economically oriented towards the right.

In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, LDP was associated with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party # President Born-Died Term start Term end 1 Čedomir Jovanović 1971– 5 November 2005 Incumbent

Electoral performance The LDP's first electoral performance was during the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election, the LDP ran in a coalition together with the Civic Alliance of Serbia, the Social Democratic Union and the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina which collectively received 5.31% of the popular vote. The Civic Alliance would later merge into the LDP the same year.

The next election followed a year later, with the LDP receiving only 5.24% of the popular vote, its worst performance to date.

The Liberal Democratic Party competed in the 2012 Serbian parliamentary election as part of the Preokret coalition. The coalition received 6.53% of the popular vote.Commission announces results of parliamentary elections . B92.

In the 2014 Serbian parliamentary elections, LDP participated in the coalition with the Social Democratic Union and the Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandžak. However, the coalition did not win any seats in the National Assembly as it only received 3.36% of the popular vote.

In the 2016 Serbian parliamentary elections, LDP participated in the coalition with the Social Democratic Party and the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina. The coalition received 5.02% of the popular vote and gained 13 seats in the National Assembly with LDP receiving 4 seats.

In the 2020 Serbian parliamentary elections, LDP led a coalition called "Coalition for Peace" along with the Vlach National Party and other small Bosniak, Romani, Romanian, and Montenegrin political organisations. However, the coalition had the worst result in LDP's history and it failed to pass the 3% electoral threshold.

Parliamentary elections + National Assembly of Serbia Year Leader Popular vote % of popular vote # of seats Seat change Coalition Status 2007 Čedomir Jovanović 214,262 5.40% 6th 6 LDP–GSS−SDU−LSV−DHSS 2008 216,902 5.35% 5th 5 LDP–DHSS−SDU 2012 255,546 6.83% 5th 2 Preokret 2014 120,879 3.48% 7th 13 LDP–SDU−BDZS 2016 189,564 5.17% 7th 4 LDP–SDS−LSV 2020 10,158 0.33% 18th 4 KZM 2022 Did not participate 0 – 2023 9,243 0.25% 15th 0 –

Presidential elections + President of Serbia Election year # Candidate 1st round vote % of vote 2nd round vote % of vote Notes 2008 5th Čedomir Jovanović 219,689 5.34% — — 2012 6th Čedomir Jovanović 196,668 5.03% — — Preokret

See also Liberalism in Serbia

References