The party is led by Vojislav Stanimirović and aims to speed up the process of returning the Serb population that left Croatia after Croatian military operation Storm in 1995 which abolished the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina and put that territory under Croatian control.
In the elections of November 2003, it beat its main rival, the Serb Popular Party (SNS), taking all three seats destined for Serb representatives in the Croatian parliament.
After the elections, the Independent Democratic Serbian Party made an agreement with ruling Croatian Democratic Union led by Ivo Sanader in which they agree on fullfilling several SDSS demands such as refugee return, strenghtening of national equality, judicial reform and cooperation with neighbouring countries.
See also: List of political parties in Croatia, Politics of Croatia