The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has been in power since 2012 and was headed by President Aleksandar Vucic until May, is celebrating a clear victory in the parliamentary elections in Serbia. As the NGO CESID, known for its precise projections, announced on Sunday evening, after counting 65.1 percent of the votes, the SNS achieved 46.6 percent, which would mean 129 seats and therefore an absolute majority.
In second place is the pro-Western opposition coalition “Serbia Against Violence” with 23 percent or 63 seats. The Socialists follow behind with 6.9 percent of the votes or 19 seats. Two smaller nationalist parties also made it into parliament with 4.9 percent and 4.8 percent respectively, which will secure them 13 mandates each. Voter turnout is said to have been around 60 percent.
In the evening, Vucic also announced the victory of the SNS in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina and in Belgrade. According to Vucic, the SNS was in the lead in the capital’s parliament with 38.5 percent of the vote, ahead of “Serbia Against Violence” with 35 percent. The nationalist opposition party NADA is in third place with six percent, ahead of the SPS with 5.4 percent.
In the Vojvodina parliament, the SNS will have 67 or 69 of 120 seats, followed by the opposition coalition “Serbia against Violence” with 28 seats. In third place is the League of Vojvodina-Hungarians with nine mandates, followed by the Socialists (SPS) with seven representatives in the provincial parliament.
Vucic: Continue the “European path”.
In his speech at the SNS headquarters in Belgrade, which this time did not sound euphoric, Vucic also stated that Serbia would have to continue “on its European path”. An official result was not expected until Monday evening.
The SNS was the favorite in the election despite high inflation and months of mass protests in Serbia. The president was omnipresent in the election campaign and Sunday’s vote was seen as a referendum on his government.
Opposition leader Radomir Lazovic complained of “a lot of irregularities” during the election. He spoke of “buying votes” and forged signatures. In this context, Rasa Nedeljkov, head of the NGO CRTA, spoke of the “undemocratic character of the elections”.
Acting Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, on the other hand, described election observers and media who reported irregularities in the voting as “liars” who aimed to cause “panic and chaos”. During the day, media critical of the government, as well as observers, pointed out that voters from the Bosnian Republika Srpska were said to have been systematically brought to Belgrade during the day in order to vote in the Serbian capital. For Brnabić, such claims were “stupidities of incredible proportions.”
