Parliamentary elections are coming up in Serbia. Not much change is expected, but a pro-EU coalition is hoping for success against President Vucic.
- president Aleksandar Vucic's party SNS Favorite at the Serbia election: Cash gifts to voters are obviously having a positive effect
- Serbia's opposition wants to score against Vucic: For “decriminalization” and free elections
- In this news ticker we will keep you up to date on all developments in the Serbian election on Sunday (December 17th).
Update from December 17th, 8 a.m.: Early parliamentary elections began in Serbia on Sunday. Around 1.6 million citizens eligible to vote are called upon to elect the 250 members of the People's Assembly (Skupstina). President Aleksandar Vucic's right-wing, national Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is considered the clear favorite. According to the latest opinion polls, she is likely to get just over 40 percent of the vote. Together with its long-standing coalition partner, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) led by Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, it is likely to remain the dominant force in the country.
Preliminary report: Belgrade – The name of President Aleksandar Vucic is not on the ballot paper in the early parliamentary elections in Serbia. The right-wing populist was omnipresent in the election campaign – and the vote on Sunday (December 17th) is considered a referendum on his government. His Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is victorious despite inflation and months of protests Survey according to sure. The party also secured voter support with generous cash gifts during the election campaign and Vucic's appearances in pro-government media.
“This is the strongest party, it is fighting and you can see the progress at all levels. We stand behind Vucic,” city employee Slavisa Caki said at a recent presidential campaign rally in Belgrade. “I believe that Serbia would stop developing if our president leaves,” agreed SNS supporter Milica.
Election in Serbia: President Vucic is not running himself, but is campaigning
“Aleksandar Vucic – so that Serbia doesn't stand still,” is the ruling party's election slogan. The 53-year-old president is omnipresent on posters, at rallies and on television. About 40 percent of the broadcast time revolves around him, as several non-governmental organizations found.
If the Serbian media “paints the future rosy and the government throws money at pension increases, then there will certainly be a victory,” explains political scientist Vojislav Mihailovic from the organization CRTA, which promotes a democratic culture.
Election in Serbia accompanied by promises of money: Pro-EU coalition hopes for success against Vucic
In the past few months, the government has spent money without regard to the state treasury: in October it increased pensions by 5.5 percent and announced a further increase for the beginning of 2024. In addition, at the end of November there was a bonus of 20,000 dinars (170 euros) for all pensioners – a considerable sum given an average pension of the equivalent of 320 euros per month. Vucic also promised each of the 235,000 high school students in Serbia a check for 10,000 dinars, and the parents of children under 16 were paid the same amount.
Emeritus economics professor Danica Popovic criticizes this generosity: “We don’t have this money. It's just about winning as many voters as possible for the governing party.” The strategy seems to be working. Surveys put the SNS at at least 40 percent. The biggest competition for Vucic's party is the loose opposition Alliance Serbia Against Violence. The movement emerged from mass protests against the government. After two gun attacks in the spring that left a total of 18 dead, hundreds of thousands took to the streets for months.
Serbia's opposition wants to score points against Vucic: for “decriminalization” and free elections
According to Vladimir Pejic from the opinion research institute Factor Plus, more voters are still undecided this time than in the past. “We have, for the first time after a number of election cycles, a major political force other than the SNS: Serbia Against Violence,” Pejic told the newspaper Danas. The singer Nikola Djordjevic is one of the undecided. But the 23-year-old doesn't believe that his vote can make a difference anyway: “I think all these elections are pointless. We know that Aleksandar Vucic will win again.”
The list name “Serbia Against Violence” is a reference to demonstrations following mass shootings in May. The alliance of eight parties is pro-European. But people don't have the same opinion on all issues – for example when it comes to Kosovo or sanctions against Russia goes. Nevertheless, the goals are largely the same: the parties are calling for the appointment of a technocratic government that should begin “decriminalization,” stop price increases, free the media and immediately hold free elections. According to CRTA polls, the alliance could actually gain the significant number of seats needed to pose a threat to the governing coalition.
Election in Serbia: 18 candidate lists – socialists and radicals support Vucic
But even Vucic's fiercest opponents do not expect any far-reaching changes from Sunday's vote, in which new city councilors will also be elected. “The first step is hopefully a victory in Belgrade and maybe in some other cities,” 55-year-old engineer Dragica Pajic said at an opposition rally in the capital. “And then this house of cards will topple.”
Vucic has used his ten years in power to consolidate his control over Serbia. He discredits critics and the mass protests as a foreign conspiracy. His close relationship with Russia is met with skepticism in Brussels. Serbia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2012. Vucic scares the Serbs by warning that without him the country would fall into the abyss. “It's not about me clinging to power, but about the others destroying everything,” he said during the election campaign. And many people like pensioner Milomir Petrovic from the village of Dljin in the southwest of the country believe him: “I think he is honest and he gives me security,” said the 76-year-old.
In total, Serbian voters can choose between 18 lists on Sunday. Lists such as “Ivica Dačić – Prime Minister of Serbia” and “Vojislav Šešelj – Serbian Radical Party” are supporters of Vucic’s list. The socialist Dačić, who is running for prime minister, opposes sanctions against Russia with a view to the Ukraine war. Although the Socialists support EU membership, they still want strong relations with Russia and China maintained. The positions among Vucic's supporters are quite chaotic, as the positions of the radicals show. They are calling for an end to the EU accession talks and want to join the BRICS instead. They also demand military neutrality for Serbia. In addition to minority lists of Bosnians and Albanians, there is also a pro-Russian list called “Russian Party – Slobodn Nikolić”. (bb/AFP)
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