The politics of Vojvodina function within the framework of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The province has a legislative assembly composed of 120 proportionally elected members, and a government composed of a president and cabinet ministers. The current political status of Vojvodina is regulated by the Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina from 2008.
Autonomy
The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was established in October 1944 and its political status was regulated on September 1, 1945, as an autonomous entity within Serbia, although it had several political predecessors such as Serbian Vojvodina (1848–1849), Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849–1860), Banat, Bačka and Baranja (1918-1919), and Danube Banovina (1929–1941).
In 1945, the amount of its autonomy was limited. Vojvodina's name was changed on April 7, 1963, to the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Under the 1974 constitution Vojvodina obtained extensive autonomy, and became one of the subjects of the Yugoslav federation.
On July 5, 1989, this extensive autonomy was largely revoked by Milošević's regime and the amount of autonomy of Vojvodina became nominal and greatly limited. On March 28, 1990, the name of the province was reverted to Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
After the Bulldozer Revolution on October 5, 2000, and change of the regime in the country, the amount of autonomy of Vojvodina was increased and was regulated by the Omnibus law from 2002. The new constitution of Serbia from 2006 did not change the status of Vojvodina regulated in 2002, although it further defined the provincial budget.
On October 18, 2008, the Assembly of Vojvodina adopted the Statute of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The Executive Council was renamed Government of Vojvodina consisting of the president, four vice-presidents and members.
Omnibus law
Omnibus law () was a law adopted in 2002 that regulated the autonomous status of Vojvodina within Serbia. The law affirmed the jurisdiction of provincial administration over culture, education, language policy, media, health, sanitary survey, health assurance, pension and invalid assurance, social protection, juristical family protection, social care of the children, soldier and invalid protection, protection of civil invalids of war, ecology, urbanism, construction industry, residential section, employment, economy, mining and energetics, agriculture, stock reserves, tourism, sports, and other sections.
History of the autonomist movement
The movement for autonomy of Vojvodina was always led by local Serbs, who were largest ethnic group in the region. The roots of the autonomist movement date to 1691, when the Habsburg Emperor recognized the right of the Serbs to have one separate autonomous voivodship within the Habsburg monarchy. The autonomy, however, was not realised at that time, and in 1790 (almost 100 years after the promise of the emperor), the Serbs organized their national assembly in Timișoara (today in Romania), where they asked for autonomy. These demands were, however, rejected by the Austrians.
In 1848, as a response to the policy of the revolutionary Hungarian government, the Serbs, in accordance with the right given in 1691, proclaimed the creation of an autonomous region named the Serbian Vojvodina. This time, the autonomy was recognized by the Habsburg emperor, and in November 1849, a separate Habsburg province named the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was created as a political successor of the Serbian Vojvodina.
However, since the policy of the Habsburgs towards the Hungarians had changed, the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was abolished in 1860, and most of its territory was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. As a response to the abolition of the voivodship, the Serbs in 1861 organized national assembly known as the "Blagoveštenski Sabor", where they asked for reestablishment of the voivodship. The constitution of the voivodship was also adopted on the assembly. The rulers of the Monarchy, however, did not accept these demands of the Serbs. Instead, the autonomy was in 1867 given to the Hungarians, and the Serbs found themselves in the Hungarian part of the Monarchy. The political struggle for the autonomy of Vojvodina, however, was continued by the Serb deputies in the parliament of the Kingdom of Hungary, until the end of the Monarchy in 1918.