MANY VIOLATIONS ⟩ Observers observed vote buying and ballot box stuffing in Serbian elections

Previously, the opposition had accused the ruling party of organizing electoral fraud.

“Election day went off without a hitch, but was overshadowed by individual incidents of violence, procedural violations and frequent complaints about organizing buses of voters to vote in support of the ruling party in local elections,” the officials said. observers, including representatives of the Organization. for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

According to them, cases of serious irregularities such as vote buying and placing large quantities of pre-filled ballots in ballot boxes were observed.

Local and parliamentary elections were held yesterday in Serbia.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced last night that his party had achieved a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections, although vote counting was still underway.

“We have an absolute majority in the Parliament with 127 seats,” Vučić assured journalists.

There are a total of 250 seats in the Serbian Parliament.

The official results were supposed to be announced only this evening, but the president seemed confident of success just hours after the polls closed.

According to the results of the latest Ipsos polls, Vučić’s right-wing populist party, the Progressive Party of Serbia (SNS), has a solid lead over the opposition coalition. However, the party can certainly expect strong competition in the capital Belgrade, especially from opposition parties and candidates united by the slogan “Serbia against violence”.

The SNS claimed this afternoon that it had nevertheless won the local elections in Belgrade.

In the 2022 elections, the SNS won 120 seats, leading to a coalition government.

“My job was to do everything in my power to secure an absolute majority in parliament,” the president praised reporters.

Vučić has served as president, prime minister and deputy prime minister for the past decade and has tightened his grip on power by essentially controlling much of the media and government institutions.

2023-12-18 15:35:00
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