Serbian opposition calls for new protest over election results
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Opposition supporters protesting outside the Electoral Committee building in Belgrade one day after the results of the parliamentary and local elections were announced.
PHOTO: AFP
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BELGRADE - The main opposition camp in Serbia called for fresh demonstrations on Dec 19 to protest the country’s election results that the group has accused of being tainted by fraud.
The announcement comes a day after thousands rallied in front of Serbia’s election commission following weekend polls that saw President Aleksandar Vucic claim his party had secured a commanding victory in parliamentary and local elections.
“We invite all opposition parties and movements, citizens and civil society to join us,” said Serbia Against Violence (SPN) movement leader Miroslav Aleksic at a press conference in Belgrade.
The demonstrations are set to be held in front of the election commission starting at 6pm local time (1am on Dec 20, Singapore time).
Criticism of the elections has been mounting, with a team of international observers on Dec 18 slamming the contest over a string of “irregularities”, including “vote buying” and “ballot box stuffing”.
Germany later called the reported irregularities “unacceptable” for a country hoping to join the European Union, while the bloc on Dec 19 said Serbia’s “electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform”.
Even though Mr Vucic was not personally on the ballot during the parliamentary and local elections over the weekend, the contest was largely seen as a referendum on his government.
Mr Vucic’s right-wing Serbian Progressive Party earned roughly 46 per cent of votes in the parliamentary elections, while the leading opposition coalition secured just 23.5 per cent of ballots, according to official results.
The SNS also said it secured a win 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 SPN banner.
That movement was formed in the wake of back-to-back mass shootings earlier in 223. They spurred hundreds of thousands to take to the streets in rallies
Opposition groups have cast doubts over the validity of the contest following accusations that the government allowed unregistered voters from neighbouring Bosnia to cast ballots illegally in the capital. AFP
