The regime of authoritarian Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is emerging stronger from Sunday’s elections. His progressive party SNS, which has been in power for eleven years, became the strongest force again in both parliamentary and local elections. According to preliminary results, the SNS received more than 46 percent of the votes and thus 129 of the 250 seats in parliament. The largest opposition force, “Serbia Against Violence,” was elected by only 23 percent of Serbs nationwide.
Even in the race for the mayor’s chair of Belgrade, the Serbian long-term ruler’s camp was clearly ahead. His candidate won there with around 39 percent of the vote.
In Belgrade in particular, the election was overshadowed by allegations of fraud against the presidential party. “These were neither free nor fair elections. We witnessed unprecedented electoral violence today,” said opposition leader Miroslav Aleksic. “According to our estimates, 40,000 identity cards were issued in Belgrade to people who do not live here.” Media also reported on buses that brought people from the Serbian part of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Belgrade Arena, where they are said to have taken part in the election. In addition, electoral lists were falsified and smear campaigns were launched against opposition members.
The opposition is outraged and feels cheated of its election victory. She called for street protests. International election observers also sharply criticized the election results. “Although the president did not stand for election, everything revolved around him,” said Austrian parliamentarian and OSCE election observer Reinhold Lopatka (ÖVP).
In the Kremlin, however, people were more than satisfied. President Putin was one of the first to congratulate him.
