On Tuesday, the 16th of January, a large gathering of individuals took place in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, to demonstrate against what they believe was electoral fraud perpetrated by President Aleksandar Vučić’s ruling party during the parliamentary and local elections held last month. This protest is part of an ongoing series of demonstrations that have occurred since the elections in December, during which Vučić’s party claimed a decisive victory.
Criticism of the elections intensified following the condemnation of a range of “irregularities” by a team of international observers, which included delegates from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). These irregularities encompassed practices such as “vote buying” and “ballot box stuffing.”
Subsequently, Germany characterized the reported allegations as “unacceptable” for a nation aspiring to become a part of the European Union, while the United States urged Belgrade to address the concerns raised by the election monitors.
“Today, on the occasion of the rally in front of the election commission offices, a prominent opposition figure, Marinika Tepić, stated, ‘The entire world now acknowledges that we apprehended the thief in the act of stealing.'”
Tepić, in her address to the crowd, also hailed the European Parliament’s decision to hold a debate on the situation in Serbia after the recent elections, scheduled for Wednesday. Following the discussion, a resolution will be passed during the upcoming plenary session.
The proposal to include this topic on the agenda was made by four European Parliament groups: the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, the Greens, and the Left.
The march occurred shortly after a Serbian opposition party officially filed a complaint regarding alleged fraud committed by Vučić’s party.
On Tuesday, a court dismissed a complaint lodged the previous week by Miodrag Gavrilović, a Serbian Member of Parliament and vice-president of the Democratic Party (DS), who is also affiliated with the “Serbia against violence” (SPN) opposition coalition.
This development followed weeks of controversy, during which thousands of people took to the streets, spurred by accusations of official wrongdoing during the elections.
The opposition coalition has been at the forefront of a public campaign denouncing purported “irregularities” at the polls and calling for the annulment of the election results, which saw Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) secure a victory in parliamentary elections and narrowly win municipal contests in Belgrade.
The SNS, receiving 46.75% of the national vote, secured a slim majority in the 250-seat national assembly with 129 seats, while the 12-party SPN opposition bloc obtained 65 seats.
In the Belgrade municipal council, the SNS won 49 out of 110 seats.
Subsequent to the elections, international observers also reported voting irregularities, including instances of vote buying and ballot box stuffing, prompting concerns from some Western nations about the electoral process.
Earlier this month, Vučić rejected any external inquiry, asserting that elections were “a matter for (Serbian) state institutions.”
Since the elections, protesters have continued to take to the streets, with the climax occurring on December 24th, when demonstrators attempted to storm Belgrade’s city hall.
