Vucic is facing a post election backlash: Why?

The opposition in Serbia has pledged to persist in protests aimed at challenging the results of this month’s election, asserting that it was manipulated by President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling party. Over the past few days, Serbian police have apprehended at least 38 individuals, including those detained during a Christmas Day protest near Belgrade city hall that turned violent.

The arguments

Additional demonstrations are scheduled by the opposition parties for the upcoming week, and several opposition MPs have initiated a hunger strike after barricading themselves inside the electoral commission building.

Despite a significant victory for Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the elections for the Serbian parliament and various municipalities, including the capital, the opposition and international observers claim that the vote was stolen by the ruling party.

The opposition expressed concern, stating there is a major crisis In Serbia and that protests will continue every day. EU flags and placards referencing the Otpor movement, which played a role in toppling Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, have been present at the protests.

Vucic has asserted that the protests represent a foreign-backed attempt to overthrow his government. Following a meeting with Vucic, the Russian ambassador to Belgrade told Russian media that the president possessed “irrefutable evidence” of Western encouragement for the demonstrations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned external forces, including those abroad, attempting to provoke unrest in Belgrade.

Outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic thanked the Russian secret service for information on the opposition’s plans to protest before election day. This shift towards Russia contrasts with Belgrade’s apparent westward pivot in preceding months, despite being an EU candidate.

Opposition activists claim that the Belgrade protests were peaceful until hooligans appeared, initiating violence by throwing rocks and other objects, leading to the reaction of riot police and subsequent arrests. They suggested that this sequence of events seemed orchestrated.

Vucic claimed a landslide victory at the December 17 elections. His party secured a majority in the National Assembly with twice as many votes and seats as their closest opponent. It also swept the regional and municipal elections, winning councils in 165 cities and towns, including the capital, Belgrade. All other parties together claimed just nine cities and towns.

The facts

The vote on December 17 caused a lot of criticism after a team of international observers, which included representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, denounced a series of “irregularities”, especially “vote-buying” and “submitting fake ballots in the ballot boxes”.

Serbia Against Violence say Serbia’s snap election was marred by unfair competition from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the presence of President Aleksandar Vucic on the campaign trail, media bias and vote-buying.

The decisive involvement of the president dominated the electoral process, and the use of his name by one of the candidate lists, together with media bias, contributed to an uneven playing field. Vucic actively campaigned for his party, although he was not on the electoral list bearing his name, Aleksandar Vucic – Serbia Must Not Stop.

The opposition parties also say they recorded misuse of public resources, lack of separation between official functions and campaign activities, as well as voter intimidation and pressure.

Serbia Against Violence has denounced electoral fraud by allowing Serb voters from neighbouring Bosnia to vote, illegally, in Belgrade. The coalition say that more than 40,000 people without legal residence in Belgrade were brought to support the SNS list, which drastically changed the electoral process. They demand the cancellation of the elections in the city of Belgrade and a repeat of the vote for the city assembly.

Many protesters draw parallels between Vucic and Milosevic, given Vucic’s political beginnings as propaganda minister under Milosevic during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Demonstrators aim to invoke the spirit of the movement that ousted Milosevic, particularly in smaller towns outside Belgrade.