# Šušnica appointed more assistants and council members than the law allows

Category: Money and deals  
Period: from 2022  
Outcome: No one investigated (as of 5 Apr 2025)  

The Municipality of Bačka Palanka states on its website that municipal president Branislav Šušnica has three assistants. After the 2024 elections, nine members of the Municipal Council were appointed, even though the law allows a municipality of up to 50,000 inhabitants two assistants and up to seven council members. According to the BAP vesti portal, councillor Petar Pešić filed a criminal complaint against Šušnica on 2 February 2025 on suspicion of abuse of office. No decision by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad on the complaint has been found.

## What the law allows

The Law on Local Self-Government says that assistants to the municipal president are appointed and dismissed by the municipal president, with no more than two in a municipality of up to 50,000 inhabitants. Members of the municipal council are elected by the municipal assembly on the municipal president's proposal, with up to seven in a municipality of up to 50,000 inhabitants, according to the latest census.

The website of the Municipality of Bačka Palanka states that the municipal president has three assistants, and after the inaugural session in July 2024, 021.rs reported nine appointed members of the Municipal Council. Pešić says the 2022 census recorded 48,454 inhabitants in the municipality.

## The complaint and the review of the Statute

According to the BAP vesti portal, Pešić filed the criminal complaint on 2 February 2025, and the complaint states that the case is to be reviewed by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad. He also submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court to review the legality of the provisions of the municipal Statute on the number of assistants and council members.

No decision by the prosecutor's office or the Constitutional Court has been found, nor has any response from Šušnica to the complaint.

## Participants

- [Branislav Šušnica](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/branislav-susnica): As municipal president he has three assistants and proposed nine council members, even though the law allows a municipality of up to 50,000 inhabitants two and seven (responsible)
- [Petar Pešić](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/petar-pesic): He filed a criminal complaint against the mayor and a petition to the Constitutional Court over the number of assistants and council members (oversight and the public)
- [Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/vjt-novi-sad): A councillor's complaint against the mayor was referred to it for review; no decision has been found (investigation and courts)
- [Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/ustavni-sud): A petition to review the legality of the Statute of Bačka Palanka Municipality is pending before it; no decision has been found (investigation and courts)

## Sources

- [BAP vesti: Petar Pešić files criminal complaint against Branislav Šušnica](<https://backapalankavesti.com/info/politika/krivicna-prijava-protiv-branislava-susnice/>): 5 Apr 2025
- [Paragraf Lex: Law on Local Self-Government](<https://www.paragraf.rs/propisi/zakon_o_lokalnoj_samoupravi.html>): 2021
- [Opština Bačka Palanka: Assistants to the mayor](<https://backapalanka.rs/pomocnici-predsednika-opstine/>): 29 Sep 2025
- [021.rs: VIDEO: Šušnica stays at the helm of Bačka Palanka, re-election preceded by heated debate](<https://www.021.rs/info/vojvodina/380562/video-susnica-ostaje-na-celu-backe-palanke-reizboru-prethodila-zucna-rasprava>): 4 Jul 2024

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Source: Odgovornost, https://odgovornost.rs/en/afere/backa-palanka-pomocnici-preko-zakona  
As of: 5 Nov 2026  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)