Serbia to hold partial election re-run after row, says state media
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Protesters holding a Serbian flag and a mock ballot paper reading "forgery" rally outside the Electoral Commission building in Belgrade.
PHOTO: AFP
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BELGRADE - Serbia announced plans on Dec 20 to re-run its recent election in certain areas, according to state media, just days after nationwide voting triggered protests and international condemnation over alleged fraud.
The parliamentary election will be repeated at 30 polling stations – out of over 8,000 voting places, said a statement published by state-run broadcaster RTS.
The re-run is set for Dec 30.
The announcement follows two days of protests that saw thousands rally in front of Serbia’s election commission
President Aleksandar Vucic claims his party had secured a commanding victory in parliamentary and local elections.
Criticism of the elections has been mounting after a team of international observers – including representatives from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – denounced a string of “irregularities”, including “vote buying” and “ballot box stuffing”.
Germany later labelled the reported allegations “unacceptable” for a country hoping to join the European Union, while the United States called on Belgrade to address the “concerns”
Even though Mr Vucic was not personally on the ballot, the contest was largely seen as a referendum on his government.
Mr Vucic’s right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) earned roughly 46 per cent of votes in the parliamentary elections, while the leading opposition coalition secured 23.5 per cent of ballots, according to official results.
The SNS also said it won in municipal elections in the capital Belgrade, where the party faced their stiffest challenge from a loose coalition of opposition parties and candidates running under the Serbia Against Violence (SPN) banner.
The SPN movement was formed in the wake of back-to-back mass shootings earlier this year, which spurred hundreds of thousands to take to the streets in rallies that morphed into anti-government protests over several months.
Opposition groups have cast doubts over the validity of the contest in the wake of accusations that the government allowed unregistered voters from neighbouring Bosnia to cast ballots illegally in the capital. AFP
