Prosecutors in Serbia ask police to probe election fraud allegations amid outcry

BELGRADE - Serbian prosecutors said on Dec 23 that they have asked police to gather evidence concerning allegations of fraud during recent elections, following an international outcry over alleged irregularities.

Serbia held parliamentary and local elections on Dec 17, in which President Aleksandar Vucic’s party said it secured a commanding victory.

But the election sparked a chorus of criticism after a team of international observers – including representatives from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) –

denounced a string of “irregularities”, including “vote buying” and “ballot box stuffing”.

Hundreds of people have protested

daily in front of Serbia’s election commission, several opposition MPs began a hunger strike demanding an annulment of the vote results, and international condemnation has poured in.

Germany labelled the reported allegations “unacceptable” for a country hoping to join the European Union, the United States

called on Belgrade to address the “concerns”

of the election monitors, and the EU said Serbia’s “electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform”.

On Dec 23, Serbia’s prosecutor’s office said it had asked police to investigate several alleged irregularities so that prosecutors could determine whether there was enough evidence to launch official cases.

Multiple cases of alleged irregularities were reported including “electoral bribery” and “vote purchase”, said the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, in a statement.

“(We) attached a video recording of two female persons talking about the alleged handing over of money by an unknown person in order to vote,” the statement said.

Other reported irregularities include allegedly forged ballots found in the ballot box in the capital Belgrade, it said.

The party of one of the hunger-striking MPs, Ms Marinika Tepic of Serbia Against Violence who has not eaten since Dec 18, said her health was “in danger” and she needs to receive daily infusions.

“Despite all that, she is not giving up and remains determined to fight until the end to annul the elections that were brutally stolen,” Ms Tepic’s Party of Freedom and Justice said in a statement.

Despite the torrent of criticism, Serbia’s President remained defiant, and this week said that “we will defend the electoral will of the people and there is no doubt about that”. AFP