Mirko Čikiriz
Мирко Чикириз
Assistant Mayor of Kragujevac
Assumed office
5 November 2020
State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry of Justice
In office
2017–2020
Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
In office
11 June 2008 – 3 June 2016
Personal details
Born (1963-01-21) 21 January 1963
Guča, Lučani, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
Political partySPO (1990–2017)
POKS (2017–2022)
OccupationPolitician

Mirko Čikiriz (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирко Чикириз; born 21 January 1963) is a Serbian politician. At one time a prominent member of the Serbian Renewal Movement (Srpski pokret obnove, SPO), he joined the breakaway Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (Pokret obnove Kraljevine Srbije, POKS) in 2017. That organization split in late 2021, and Čikiriz became a prominent figure in the party faction led by Žika Gojković.

Čikiriz has been an assistant mayor of Kragujevac since November 2020, with responsibility for co-operation with churches and religious communities.

Early life and career

Čikiriz was born in the small town of Guča, Lučani, in what was then the People's Republic of Serbia in the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated from the University of Kragujevac Faculty of Law in 1988, passed the bar exam in 1995, and worked at law in Kragujevac. From 1998 to 2008, he was the legal representative and head of the legal service for Takovo osiguranje in the city.[1]

Politician

Early years

Čikiriz's family has a long history of involvement in Serbian royalist politics. His ancestors were supporters of the Karađorđević dynasty in the nineteenth century, and Draža Mihailović kept his military headquarters in the house of Čikiriz's grandmother for twenty days during World War II. Several members of his family were shot by German forces during the Axis occupation of Serbia.

Čikiriz joined the SPO on its formation in 1990. He was arrested with party leader Vuk Drašković following street protests against Slobodan Milošević's administration in June 1993; on his release, he organized further protests for the benefit of those party members still incarcerated. Čikiriz became a member of the SPO Kragujevac city board in 1996, and in 1997–98 he served as secretary of the municipal assembly and the municipal administration in the nearby municipality of Lapovo. He later became president of the SPO's Kragujevac board and a member of its presidency for the Šumadija District.[2][3]

Parliamentarian

Čikiriz was a candidate in the Serbian parliamentary elections of 2000,[4] 2003,[5] and 2007,[6] although he was not elected on any of these occasions. The SPO's electoral list did not cross the electoral threshold in 2000 or 2007. In 2003, the party ran a combined list with New Serbia (Nova Srbija, NS) that won twenty-two seats. Čikiriz appeared in the 114th position on the combined list of the parties and was not afterward included in the SPO's delegation. (From 2000 to 2011, assembly mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Čikiriz could have been given a mandate despite his low position on the list, but he was not.)[7]

The SPO contested the 2008 Serbian parliamentary election as part of the For a European Serbia (Za evropsku Srbiju, ZES) alliance led by the Democratic Party (Demokratska stranka, DS). Čikiriz was included on the alliance's (mostly alphabetical) list in the 242nd position and was given a mandate when ZES won a plurality victory with 102 seats out of 250.[8][9] The overall results of the election were inconclusive, but ZES ultimately formed a coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS), and the SPO supported the administration. In his first assembly term, Čikiriz was a member of the legislative committee; a deputy member of the committee on youth and sports, the committee for relations with Serbs outside Serbia, and the poverty reduction committee; and a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with Australia, Belgium, Norway, and Portugal.[10]

Čikiriz was also elected to the Kragujevac city assembly on the ZES alliance's list in the 2008 Serbian local elections.[11][12] His term was brief; he resigned from the city assembly on 10 October 2008.[13]

Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. The SPO contested the 2012 Serbian parliamentary election in an alliance with the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberalno demokratska partija, LDP) known as U-Turn (Preokret). Čikiriz received the seventeenth position on the alliance's list and was re-elected when it won nineteen seats.[14] The Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) won the election and afterward formed a new coalition government with the SPS and other parties; the SPO served in opposition. Čikiriz was a member of the committee on constitutional affairs and legislation; a member of the committee on the rights of the child; a deputy member of the committee on finance, state budget, and control of public spending; a deputy member of the committee on administrative-budgetary and mandate-immunity issues; and a member of the friendship groups with Japan, Slovenia, South Korea, and the Sovereign Order of Malta.[15]

The SPO joined the SNS's political alliance in the buildup to the 2014 parliamentary election. Čikiriz received the ninety-second position on the alliance's Aleksandar Vučić — Future We Believe In list and was elected to a third term when the alliance won a landslide victory with 158 seats.[16] During his third term, Čikiriz was a member of the committee on constitutional affairs and legislation and the committee on the rights of the child; a deputy member of the committee on administrative-budgetary and mandate-immunity issues, the committee for Kosovo and Metohija, the health and family committee, the committee on defence and internal affairs, and the committee on finance, state budget, and control of public spending; a deputy member of Serbia's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA); and a member of the friendship groups with Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, and the United States of America.[17]

He received the 134th position on the SNS-led Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Is Winning list in the 2016 parliamentary election[18] and narrowly missed re-election when the list won 131 mandates. He was later appointed as a state secretary in Serbia's ministry of justice.[19] As none of the SPO's three elected members left the assembly prior to the 2020 election, Čikiriz did not have the opportunity to return as a replacement.

Čikiriz was a vice-president of the SPO at the time that he left the party in 2017.[20]

POKS member

The SPO split in 2017, and a new party called the Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS) was formed under Žika Gojković's leadership. Čikiriz joined the POKS; in so doing, he said that its founders were dissatisfied with Vuk Drašković's continued leadership of SPO but did not want to attempt a disruptive takeover of that party. Čikiriz also accused Drašković of singling out the crimes committed by Serb forces in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s and ignoring the crimes of other sides.[21] The POKS initially continued to support Serbia's SNS-led administration, and Čikiriz remained in his role as a state secretary.

In 2019, the Kragujevac city assembly voted to name an alley after Draža Mihailović. Čikiriz supported this decision, describing both Mihailović's Chetniks and the Yugoslav Partisans as having been anti-fascist forces in World War II.[22]

He appeared in the third position on the POKS's For the Kingdom of Serbia electoral list in the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election.[23] The list narrowly missed crossing the electoral threshold.[24] He also led the POKS's list for Kragujevac in the concurrent 2020 Serbian local elections[25] and was elected when the list won three mandates.[26] Once again, his term in the local assembly was relatively brief. He was appointed as an assistant mayor on 5 November 2020, with responsibility for co-operation with churches and religious communities. (The city's other assistant mayors had been appointed in September, but Čikiriz was required to wait until the end of his term as a state secretary before he could formally take office.)[27][28][29] By virtue of holding this executive role, he was required to resign from the city assembly, which he did on 27 November.[30] In May 2021, he introduced a contract valued at seven million dollars to be spent on financing and co-financing projects sponsored by the city's different religious communities.[31]

POKS split and 2022 parliamentary election

The POKS split into rival factions in late 2021, respectively led by Žika Gojković and former Belgrade mayor Vojislav Mihailović. For several months, both Gojković and Mihailović claimed to be the legitimate leader of the party. Čikiriz was one of Gojković's most prominent allies in this intra-party division.[32][33][34][35] On 28 December 2021, the group centered around Mihailović formally expelled both Gojković and Čikiriz from the POKS, a decision that they rejected as invalid.[36][37][38]

Gojković's POKS group contested the 2022 Serbian parliamentary election in an alliance with Dveri, and Čikiriz received the twelfth position on their combined electoral list.[39] The list won ten seats, and he was not immediately elected. Shortly after the election, Gojković's group lost the rights to the POKS name when Mihailović was formally recognized as the party's leader.[40]

Čikiriz is currently the next candidate slated to enter the national assembly if any of the four candidates elected for Gojković's POKS leave the assembly in its current term.[41]

References

  1. ↑ MIRKO ČIKIRIZ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 19 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Lidja Valtner, "Hortikultura i gospodstvo", Danas, 8 March 2009, accessed 5 March 2022.
  3. ↑ MIRKO ČIKIRIZ, Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 19 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (2 „Српски покрет обнове – Вук Драшковић" – Вук Драшковић), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 July 2021. He received the 245th position out of 250 on the list, which was mostly alphabetical.
  5. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (6. СРПСКИ ПОКРЕТ ОБНОВЕ - НОВА СРБИЈА - ВУК ДРАШКОВИЋ - ВЕЛИМИР ИЛИЋ) Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 July 2021. He received the 114th position in 2003.
  6. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (7 Српски покрет обнове - Вук Драшковић), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 2 July 2021. He received the fifth position on the list in 2007.
  7. ↑ 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 28 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ЗА ЕВРОПСКУ СРБИЈУ - БОРИС ТАДИЋ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 18 August 2020.
  9. ↑ 11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 18 August 2020.
  10. ↑ МИРКО ЧИКИРИЗ, Archived 2011-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, 29 December 2011, accessed 5 March 2022.
  11. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Kragujevca), Volume 18 Number 12 (30 April 2008), p. 3. He received the thirteenth position on the list. As at the republic level, mandates in local elections were awarded at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions during this time.
  12. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Kragujevca), Volume 18 Number 16 (27 May 2008), p. 13. The list won fourteen mandates.
  13. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Kragujevca), Volume 28 Number 29 (10 October 2008), p. 11.
  14. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 ЧЕДОМИР ЈОВАНОВИЋ - ПРЕОКРЕТ Либерално демократска партија, Српски покрет обнове, Социјалдемократска унија, Богата Србија, Војвођанска партија, Демократска партија Санџака, Зелена еколошка партија - зелени, Партија Бугара Србије), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 18 August 2020.
  15. ↑ MIRKO ČIKIRIZ, Archived 2013-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, 3 March 2013, accessed 5 March 2022.
  16. ↑ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (1 ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ - BUDUĆNOST U KOJU VERUJEMO), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 18 August 2020.
  17. ↑ MIRKO ČIKIRIZ, Archived 2016-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, 14 April 2014, accessed 5 March 2022.
  18. ↑ Избори за народне посланике 2016. године – Изборне листе (1 АЛЕКСАНДАР ВУЧИЋ - СРБИЈА ПОБЕЂУЈЕ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 18 August 2020.
  19. ↑ "Čikiriz: Traži se rešenje za probleme u procesu sudskog veštačenja", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 18 September 2018, accessed 18 August 2020.
  20. ↑ "Predsedništvo SPO odbacilo zahtev za promenu rukovodstva stranke", Beta, 27 May 2017, accessed 18 August 2020.
  21. ↑ "Čikiriz: Nismo za politicko oceubistvo, osnivamo svoj pokret", Blic (Source: Tanjug), 6 June 2017, accessed 18 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Бране Карталовић, "Рат „четника” и „партизана” у Крагујевцу", Politika, 16 November 2019, accessed 19 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Ko je na listi koalicije Za Kraljevinu Srbiju?", Danas, 14 March 2020, accessed 18 August 2020.
  24. ↑ Monarhisti ipak ispod cenzusa i posle ponovljenih izbora, Danas, 2 July 2020, accessed 18 August 2020.
  25. ↑ Изборне листе 5. ЗА КРАЉЕВИНУ СРБИЈУ- КРАГУЈЕВАЦ МОЈ ГЛАВНИ ГРАД (Покрет обнове Краљевине Србије, Монархистички фронт)), Election 2020, City of Kragujevac Election Commission, accessed 13 August 2020.
  26. ↑ РЕШЕЊЕ о додељивању мандата кандидатима за одборнике Скупштине града Крагујевца, City of Kragujevac Election Commission, 10 July 2020, accessed 13 August 2020.
  27. ↑ "Gradonačelnik Kragujevca i petorica pomoćnika", Glas Šumadije, 12 September 2020, accessed 5 March 2022.
  28. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Kragujevca), Volume 30 Number 36 (27 November 2020), p. 27-28.
  29. ↑ Помоћници градоначелника, City of Kragujevac, accessed 5 March 2022.
  30. ↑ Službeni List (Grada Kragujevca), Volume 30 Number 26 (27 November 2020), p. 1.
  31. ↑ "Grad potpisao ugovor za 11 projekata verskih zajednica", Glas Šumadije, 13 May 2021, accessed 5 March 2022.
  32. ↑ "RIK proglasio izbornu listu Dveri i frakcije POKS-a koju predvodi Žika Gojković", Danas, 23 February 2022, accessed 23 February 2022. See also "Koalicija NADA: Vlast onemogućava POKS da učestvuje na izborima (VIDEO)", Beta, 16 February 2022, accessed 23 February 2022.
  33. ↑ "Žika Gojković isključen iz POKS". Danas (in Serbian). 28 December 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  34. ↑ "Radosavljević: Žika Gojković isključen iz članstva POKS". N1 (in Serbian). 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  35. ↑ "Čikiriz i Gojković izbačeni iz POKS-a". InfoKG - Gradski portal - Kragujevac - Najnovije vesti (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  36. ↑ "Žika Gojković isključen iz POKS". Danas (in Serbian). 28 December 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  37. ↑ "Radosavljević: Žika Gojković isključen iz članstva POKS". N1 (in Serbian). 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  38. ↑ "Čikiriz i Gojković izbačeni iz POKS-a". InfoKG - Gradski portal - Kragujevac - Najnovije vesti (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  39. ↑ Vojin Radovanović, "Ko su kandidati za poslanike na listi Patriotskog bloka za kraljevinu Srbiju?", Danas, 23 February 2022, accessed 23 February 2022.
  40. ↑ "Vojislav Mihailović dobio ekskluzivno pravo na korišćenje imena POKS - Politika - Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  41. ↑ Additional Documents – Electoral Lists (Parliamentary 2022 – 11. БОШКО ОБРАДОВИЋ - СРПСКИ ПОКРЕТ ДВЕРИ - ПОКС - МИЛОШ ПАРАНДИЛОВИЋ - ПАТРИОТСКИ БЛОК ЗА ОБНОВУ КРАЉЕВИНЕ СРБИЈЕ), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 17 December 2022.
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