Vucic Calls Early Parliamentary Elections to Consolidate Control – Protests, Spending, and Authoritarianism

Only 18 months have passed since Vucic was re-elected as president, but after months of protests, he decided to call early parliamentary elections to consolidate his control over the government.

During the election campaign, the president was everywhere – on posters, in videos shared on social media and on 24/7 television news.

As the Belgrade research center “Transparency and Accountability” has recognized, it gives the impression that these are presidential elections, not parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections.

“President Vucic occupies almost half of the time and space in the informational political content of most influential media,” the think tank says.

The 53-year-old Vucic has carefully created the image of a tireless leader, giving the impression that he is constantly concerned about attracting investments and creating new jobs.

Sunday’s election turned into a referendum on Vucic’s government after mass protests sparked by a series of shootings in May that killed 17 people, including eight children.

The Progressive Party of Serbia (CNS), represented by Vučić, which has been in power since 2012, has additional problems caused by high inflation, which has significantly reduced the purchasing power of citizens.

Therefore, on the eve of the elections, Vučić focused on generous spending, providing one-time benefits for families and seniors, as well as raising pensions.

His supporters point out that Vucic brought order to the country and attracted billions of investments, successfully balancing between the West and the East.

His opponents, on the other hand, point to the growing authoritarianism of the president and the subjection of the media to his control.

2023-12-17 06:36:00
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