Thousands march on Serbian capital to protest dubious election outcome

A crowd of thousands gathered in Serbia's capital city, Belgrade, on Saturday to protest the re-election of the country’s populist President, Aleksandar Vučić, who won another term in office earlier this month amidst claims of electoral fraud and other irregularities.

Saturday’s rally drew thousands of people amidst heightened political tensions in the Balkan nation, with incidents and arrests of opposition supporters at a protest last weekend.

An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vučić is widely accused of undermining democratic standards, press freedoms and the independence of public institutions in the Balkan country, which has been a candidate for EU membership since 2012.

According to the official result of the December 17 ballot Vučić’s party obtained 47% of the national parliament vote, while the Serbia Against Violence opposition bloc achieved around 24%.  Serbia Against Violence, an alliance of opposition parties, has alleged that fraud took place, particularly in Belgrade.

International election observers noted multiple irregularities, including cases of vote-buying and ballot box stuffing, in preliminary findings that were published a day after the vote.

Thousands attended protests in Belgrade on Saturday (Photo| twitter: @pro_glas_rs)

EU officials have also expressed concern at that result, calling for an investigation into the irregularities, as well as “tangible improvements and further reform” of the electoral process.

Vučić has accused the opposition of inciting violence in order to overthrow the government,  under instructions from abroad, allegations which Serbian opposition leaders have denied.

Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party has been declared the winner of the parliamentary and local elections, but “I am here to fight for democracy in this country, for repeating the elections in fair conditions,” student Aleta Cacic said at Friday’s protest.

Serbia Against Violence has been leading daily protests in Serbia since the vote, which the populists insist was fair. 

On Sunday evening protesters tried to enter Belgrade city hall, breaking windows, before being pushed back by riot police who used tear gas, pepper spray and batons to control the crowd. At least 38 people, mostly students, were arrested, most of whom were subsequently sentenced to 30 days in  detention.

Serbia is currently formally seeking to join the EU, a bid hampered by its close ties with Moscow. Serbia recently refused to join Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian officials expressed their full support to Vucic in the crackdown against the protesters and backed his claims that the vote was free and fair.