The December 2023 municipal elections in Belgrade will be organized again on June 2, after accusations of fraud, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Sunday.
“Elections in Belgrade will take place on June 2, while all other elections will take place in accordance with legal and constitutional deadlines
,” President Vucic said at a press conference.
President Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) claimed victory in the legislative and local elections in this Balkan country in 2023. But the opposition and international observers denounced a vote marred by fraud, including
"vote buying »
and
“ballot stuffing”
, particularly in Belgrade.
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The vote sparked a series of protests.
The result was close in Belgrade where the opposition coalition and candidates running under the banner
“Serbia against violence”
proved a serious competitor to the SNS, which won 49 of the 110 seats in the municipal council.
In Belgrade in particular, the opposition accused the government of allowing voters in neighboring Bosnia to vote illegally to secure control of the capital.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe denounced elections
“dominated”
by Vucic, a right-wing populist,
“which, combined with the systemic advantages of the ruling party, created unfair conditions for candidates”
.
“It is important that we have elections for which at the end everyone will say: this is the result
,” the president stressed.