Parliamentary elections in Serbia: what is at stake in an election under the control of President Vucic?

This Sunday, Serbian voters are called to vote in the municipal elections, but also in the early general elections to renew the 250 seats of deputies. The election was called on 1 November by President Aleksandar Vucic, who dissolved the National Assembly to do so.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at a meeting in Belgrade on December 2, 2023. AP - Darko Vojinovic

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After what some are calling the most obscure election campaign ever waged by the ruling party, Serbian voters are expected to re-elect the SNS, the Serbian Progressive Party, as the main political force in the National Assembly. It must be said that President Aleksandar Vucic does not really leave a choice, as he is omnipresent in the Serbian media, which is masterfully controlled by his political camp.

The SNS, for example, has left no room for the messages of the "Serbia Against Violence" coalition, which was founded last October. A left-wing coalition, created after two mass shootings in May that provoked massive protests, and which claims to be pro-European.

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This is one of the other issues at stake in this election, in addition to the issue of violence. For years, the Serbian president has been walking a tightrope between a strong pro-Moscow bias and a conciliatory rhetoric towards Brussels. It's a dangerous game that some Serbs no longer support. The question of Kosovo is also at the centre of the debates, knowing that Aleksandar Vucic continues to present himself as the first and only protector of the Serb minority in Kosovo, contrary to an opposition which, according to him, would be ready to betray it.

Government Pressure

For many observers, the campaign has been particularly violent as the regime increases pressure on voters. Are you looking for a job? Vote for the SNS! Are you cancer patient but don't have access to therapy yet? The solution is the same, vote for the president's Serbian Progressive Party. Vucic and your problems will be resolved, reports our correspondent in Belgrade, Jean-Arnault Dérens.

CRTA, an NGO that will deploy more than 3,000 observers on the ground, has collected many damning testimonies. Two weeks ago, Serbian investigative journalists also managed to infiltrate a call center where hundreds of people take turns convincing voters to vote "correctly." These canvassers are paid 25 euros for a 4-hour session, committing themselves to vote for the party in power.

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To prove it, they will have to take a picture of their ballot paper before putting it in the ballot box: in Serbia, voters tick off the party of their choice on a long list. To thwart these pressures, which also weigh on many civil servants, social networks remind us that it normally only takes a stroke of a pen to invalidate the ballot, but on Sunday, the regime seems determined to pull out all the stops to retain power.

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• Serbia
• Aleksandar Vucic