Wikipedia

Károly Pál

Károly Pál (Serbian Cyrillic: Карољ Пал, romanized: Karolj Pal; born 13 January 1951) is a politician in Serbia from the country's Hungarian national minority community. He has at different times served in the National Assembly of Serbia and the Assembly of Vojvodina and has held high municipal office in Mali Iđoš. For most of his political career, Pál has been a member of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség, VMSZ).

Private career

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Pál is an economist from the village of Feketić in Mali Iđoš, Vojvodina.[1]

Politician

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At the republic and provincial levels

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Pál ran for the Serbian national assembly in the 1990 parliamentary election in the division of "Bačka Topola and Mali Iđoš," with endorsements from the Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia in Vojvodina (Savez reformskih snaga Jugoslavije, SRSJ), the Association for the Yugoslav Democratic Initiative (Udruženje za jugoslovensku/jugoslavensku demokratsku inicijativu, UJDI), and the League of Social Democrats – Yugoslavia (Liga socijaldemokrata Vojvodine, LSV). He was defeated Sándor Nagy of the Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians (Vajdasági Magyarok Demokratikus Közössége , VMDK).

He was elected to the Vojvodina assembly for Mali Iđoš in the December 1992 provincial election with endorsements from the VMDK and the Reform Democratic Party of Vojvodina (Reformska demokratska stranka Vojvodine, RDSV).[2] He took his seat when the assembly convened in 1993 and served for the next four years.[3] The Socialist Party of Serbia (Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) won the election, and Pál served in opposition. He joined the VMSZ when the party was formed in 1994 and was not re-elected in the 1996 provincial election.

Pál appeared in the fourth position on the VMSZ's electoral list for Subotica in the 1997 Serbian parliamentary election.[4] The list received three mandates, and he was not included in the party's assembly delegation.[5] (From 1992 to 2000, Serbia's electoral law stipulated that one-third of parliamentary mandates would be assigned to candidates from successful lists in numerical order, with the remaining two-thirds distributed amongst other candidates on the lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties. Pál could have been awarded a mandate despite his list position, though in the event he was not.)[6])

The VMSZ subsequently participated in the 2000 Serbian parliamentary election as part of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Demokratska opozicija Srbije, DOS), a broad and ideologically diverse coalition of parties opposed to Slobodan Milošević's administration. Pál appeared in the 115th position on the alliance's list and was given a mandate when the list won a majority victory with 176 out of 250 seats.[7] (From 2000 to 2011, all parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be distributed out of numerical order. Pál did not receive an automatic mandate on the basis of his list position.)[8] He took his seat when the assembly met in January 2001 and served as a supporter of the administration for the next three years.[9]

For the 2003 parliamentary election, the VMSZ joined the Together for Tolerance ( Zajedno za toleranciju, ZZT) alliance, and Pál was given the 153rd position on their combined list.[10] The list did not cross the electoral threshold to win representation in the assembly. Pál's parliamentary term ended when the new assembly convened in January 2004. He later appeared on the VMSZ's list in the 2007 parliamentary election and the VMSZ-led Hungarian Coalition (Magyar Koalíció , MK) list in the 2008 parliamentary election, though he did not receive a mandate on either occasion.[11][12][13][14]

Municipal politics

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The VMSZ won a majority victory in Mali Iđoš in the 2000 Serbian local elections. After the election, Pál was chosen as president of the municipality's executive board (i.e., effectively the municipality's first minister).[15][16]

He received the lead position on the VMSZ's list for Mali Iđoš in the 2004 local elections.[17] The party won a plurality victory and emerged as the dominant party in a local coalition government; Pál was chosen as president (i.e., speaker) when the assembly convened.[18] In 2005, he made the controversial decision to allow the Montenegrin Orthodox Church to construct a place of worship in the municipality; this decision was opposed by the Serbian government, on the grounds that the church was not recognized.[19][20] Pál was given the fourth position on the Hungarian Coalition's list for Mali Iđoš in the 2008 Serbian local elections, in which the alliance won another plurality victory, and was chosen afterwards for another term as assembly president.[21][22][23]

Serbia's electoral law was reformed in 2011, such that mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. Pál received the second position on the VMSZ's list in the 2012 local elections and was elected to another term when the list won eight seats.[24][25] The Democratic Party (Demokratska stranka, DS) later formed a coalition government without the VMSZ, and Pál charged that the DS had broken a pre-election pact.[26] He did not seek re-election in 2016.

Party and community activism

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Pál has served several terms as a VMSZ vice-president and has been an executive member of Serbia's Hungarian National Council.[27] In February 2016, he oversaw the expulsion of several leading figures from the party, including a current and former mayor of Subotica.[28]

Electoral record

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National Assembly of Serbia

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1990 Serbian parliamentary election
Member for Bačka Topola and Mali Iđoš[29][30]
Branislav Vujović Serbian Renewal Movement
Božidar Martinović Democratic Party
Sándor Nagy Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians elected
Károly Pál Union of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia in Vojvodina/Association for the Yugoslav Democratic Initiative/League of Social Democrats – Yugoslavia
Mirko Popović Socialist Party of Serbia

References

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  1. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 44 Number 9 (23 April 2012), p. 40.
  2. ^ Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за посланике у Скупштину Аутономне Покрајине Војводине на превременим изборима одржаним 20. децембра 1992. године, Provincial Election Commission, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, accessed 29 July 2021.
  3. ^ Saziv 1993 - 1997, Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, accessed 22 November 2021.
  4. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5 Суботица), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 9 September 2021.
  5. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године – РЕЗУЛТАТИ ИЗБОРА (Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије, одржаних 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997. године (Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. и 28. септембра и 5. октобра 1997.) године, Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 2 July 2021.
  6. ^ Guide to the Early Election Archived 2022-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Information of the Republic of Serbia, December 1992, made available by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, accessed 14 July 2017.
  7. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 23. децембра 2000. године и 10. јануара 2001. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (4 Демократска опозиција Србије – др Војислав Коштуница (Демократска странка, Демократска странка Србије, Социјалдемократија, Грађански савез Србије, Демохришћанска странка Србије, Нова Србија, Покрет за демократску Србију, Лига социјалдемократа Војводине, Реформска демократска странка Војводине, Коалиција Војводина, Савез војвођанских Мађара, Демократска алтернатива, Демократски центар, Нова демократија, Социјалдемократска унија, Санxачка демократска партија, Лига за Шумадију, Српски покрет отпора – Демократски покрет), Republika Srbija – Republička izborna komisija, accessed 2 July 2021.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ PRVA KONSTITUTIVNA SEDNICA, 22.01.2001., Otvoreni Parlament, accessed 22 November 2001.
  10. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 28. децембра 2003. године, ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (12. ЗАЈЕДНО ЗА ТОЛЕРАНЦИЈУ - ЧАНАК, КАСА, ЉАЈИЋ), Republika Srbija – Republička izborna komisija, accessed 22 November 2021.
  11. ^ Pál appeared in the thirty-fourth position in 2007. The list won three mandates. See Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (8 Савез војвођанских Мађара - Јожеф Каса), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 October 2021.
  12. ^ Pál appeared in the tenth position on the coalition list, which won four mandates. See Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (МАЂАРСКА КОАЛИЦИЈА - ИШТВАН ПАСТОР), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 26 October 2021.
  13. ^ 14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 22 November 2021.
  14. ^ 11 June 2008 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 22 November 2021.
  15. ^ Izbori, 2000. Za Odbornike Skupština Opština i Gradova, Bureau of Statistics – Republic of Serbia, pp. 35.
  16. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 32 Number 6 (24 October 2000), p. 98.
  17. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 35 Number 6 (7 September 2004), p. 59.
  18. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 35 Number 8 (20 October 2004), p. 88.
  19. ^ "Montenegrins in Serbia to build church with Hungarian mayor's [sic] consent," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 8 August 2005 (Source: Radio Montenegro, Podgorica, in Serbian 1330 gmt 8 Aug 05.
  20. ^ "Minister says no place in Serbia for self-styled Montenegrin church," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 October 2005 (Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0816 gmt 18 Oct 05).
  21. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 40 Number 4 (26 April 2008), p. 29.
  22. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 40 Number 7 (12 May 2008), p. 55.
  23. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 40 Number 9 (25 June 2008), p. 66.
  24. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 44 Number 9 (23 April 2012), p. 40.
  25. ^ Službeni List (Opštine Mali Iđoš), Volume 44 Number 7 (7 May 2012), p. 4.
  26. ^ "SVM: Nelegalna vlast u Malom Iđošu", Radio Television of Vojvodina, 10 July 2012, accessed 22 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Karolj Pal (SVM): U Subotici neće biti prekomponovanja vlasti", subotica.com, 7 May 2014, accessed 22 November 2021.
  28. ^ "SVM isključio 82 člana, među njima i gradonačelnika Subotice", subotica.com, 12 February 2016, accessed 22 November 2021.
  29. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 9. и 23. децембра 1990. године (Листе кандидата за народне посланике Народне скупштине Републике Србије, по изборним јединицама), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
  30. ^ Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 9. и 23. децембра 1990. године (Извештај о укупним резултатима избора за народне посланике у Народну скупштину Републике Србије 9. и 23. децембра 1990. године), Republika Srbija - Republička izborna komisija, accessed 17 February 2017.
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