Serbian citizens will go to the polls today to exercise their right to vote in the 5th parliamentary vote since 2012, reported the correspondent of BGNES in Belgrade.
Elections will also be held at the local level in more than 60 settlements after the mayors resigned.
About 6.5 million people are eligible to vote in the 250-seat parliament, and 126 seats are needed for a majority in the assembly. 18 lists with over 2000 candidates are registered. About 1.6 million people have the right to vote in Belgrade, and there are 14 lists on the ballot. Voters will appoint the new 110 councilors in the capital city council, who then elect the mayor. Kosovo Serbs have the right to vote on the territory of Serbia. Polling stations open at 7 a.m. local time and close at 8 p.m.
Another early election
Vucic's rivals are hoping for a "breakthrough" in the capital Belgrade, but at the national level the president seems set to retain his influence. Today is the second time in less than two years that early elections have been called for the capital and the third parliamentary vote in four years, in addition to the unprecedented and electoral decision to move the voting calendar forward six months in more than one third of Serbian municipalities. Since 2012, when the Serbian Progressive Party (SPP) took power, 5 /five/ parliamentary elections have been held, and 4 /four/ of them were early, the last of which on April 3, 2022.
Preliminary estimates indicate that in most populated places in the country, the vote will be won by Vučić's SPP and its allies. Vučić stressed on the eve of the party's 15th anniversary that the upcoming vote is "the most important so far", even though he has not officially been president of the party since May this year. The party is unlikely to secure an outright victory, but the result is expected to be enough to continue its coalition rule with the Socialists and other smaller formations. The list "Serbia must not stop" will probably have the most mandates in the parliament.
The president's coalition has ruled the country since 2012, when he led the then-new Serbian Progressive Party to victory. The second largest partner is the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), once headed by Serbian president and convicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. His grandson Marko Milosevic is third on the party list.
The election campaign
On November 1, Vučić dissolved the parliament and announced the date for early elections. Vladimir Orlić, the Speaker of the National Assembly, then announced an emergency vote to fill provincial posts in Vojvodina and Belgrade, as well as in 64 other city and municipal assemblies. Vucic's decision came after months of pressure and thousands of protests after the mass shootings in May that shocked the nation and formed the Serbia Against Violence movement, which later became an opposition coalition. The opposition accused Vucic and the pro-government media of fueling an atmosphere of violence by broadcasting propaganda reality shows, a media blackout and criticism of dissent.
A delegation of election observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) noted in November that all but one of Serbia's parliamentary elections since 2000 had been early, negatively impacting the functioning of democratic institutions and putting the country in a period of semi-permanent campaigning and impeded the full enforcement of laws and executive control.
"Election monitors noted a highly polarized campaign ahead of next month's snap parliamentary elections, an unprecedented level of negative campaigning and fear-mongering, attacks on the opposition and journalists, and serious media-related problems," the report said.
Preliminary predictions
In one of the latest polls conducted 3 days before election day by the IPSOS agency, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPP) has the support of 44.6% of voters. The second political force is "Serbia against violence" with 23.6%, and in third place the formation of Ivica Dacic, the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) - 8.7%. The expected voter turnout is over 56%, but may vary between 54.6 percent and 58.2 percent.
The opposition has not been able to fully unite on a common list, despite tough negotiations in recent weeks.
The three main opposition blocs are the coalition "Serbia Against Violence" and two coalitions of right-wing parties - "People's Assembly" and NADA.
"Serbia Against Violence" is composed of the "Party of Freedom and Justice" (PFJ) of the former mayor of Belgrade Dragan Djilas, "People's Movement of Serbia" of Miroslav Aleksic, "Green Left Front", "Heart" led by Zdravko Ponoš , the environmental uprising led by Aleksandar Jovanovic-Chuta, the Democratic Party, the Movement of Free Citizens and the "Together" party. The Vice-Chairman of the PSS Marinika Tepic heads the list.
The remaining main parties are divided into the National Assembly and NADA coalitions.
The meaning of Belgrade
However, a key factor for the ruling party's future may be Belgrade, where the opposition is predicted to have a chance to overcome the SPP. The Serbia Against Violence coalition is in a tight race with President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbia Must Not Stop and former SPP mayor and vice president Aleksandar Šapić. He stepped down on September 29, after which he confidently predicted: “I am not the outgoing mayor. I am the future mayor."
In the race, Šapić will face the candidate of the "Serbia Against Violence" coalition, Vladimir Obradović, a teacher, MP and former member of the nationally conservative Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS).
Nearly 1.7 million of Serbia's total population of around 6.7 million live in Belgrade, and it is the undisputed political and administrative center of the country. The city's current annual budget of 191 billion dinars ($1.78 billion) makes up about 9% of national budget spending.
The opposition campaigned in Belgrade with the message that a victory in the capital could be the first step towards ousting Vucic across the country. /BGNES
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