Voters in Serbia cast their ballots today, Sunday, in early elections that observers see as an attempt by President Aleksandar Vučić and his populist Progressive Party to secure another four-year term following two deadly shooting incidents earlier this year that have impacted their popularity. According to poll organizers CeSID/Epso, the voter turnout by 2 PM (13:00 GMT) was 32.3%, up from 30.4% at the same time during the April 2022 elections. Eighteen parties and alliances are competing for 250 seats in the parliament, striving to win the votes of approximately 6.5 million eligible voters. The minimum threshold to enter parliament is three percent of the votes. Polling stations are set to close at 9 PM (20:00 GMT), and the electoral commission is expected to announce complete results in the following days.
Eighteen people, including nine students, were killed in the shooting incidents in May, which led to street protests that shook Vučić’s grip and that of the Progressive Party, which has been in power for 10 years. Opposition has intensified due to inflation, which reached eight percent in November. Opposition parties and human rights organizations accuse Vučić and his party of bribing voters, silencing media freedoms, using violence against opponents, corruption, and links to organized crime. Vučić and his allies deny these allegations.
Today's parliamentary elections, the fifth since 2012, coincide with local elections in most municipalities, the capital Belgrade, and the northern province of Vojvodina. Serbia, a candidate for EU membership, must first normalize relations with Kosovo, its former province with a majority Albanian population, which declared independence in 2008 after an uprising in the late 1990s. EU-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina have stalled, and tensions remain high.
